Sorry for the lack of reports but we have been keeping very busy! We were able to squeeze in a few wreck fishing trips and ended the spring sea bass season this past Saturday with a 4 man limit of nice sea bass.

Sunday we made it out to the mid shore grounds with our friends from New Level Clothing. As we were closing in on the area where we wanted to fish, it looked like the New York City skyline with lights from boats everywhere so we changed our plans to stay away from the boat traffic. Within 1 minute of setting out our first rod, the reel started screaming and we boated a nice 44″ bluefin. We stayed a little longer but could not find any more life. We knew we had a short weather window and were back at dock before lunch time.

With sea bass season closing we will primarily be targeting fluke in the bay, inlet, and ocean. After July 1, sea bass opens back up with a limit of 2 fish per person which will be a nice addition to our daily catches.

We are also running site seeing, sunset, and lunch/dinner cruises this summer! On Sunday evening’s sunset cruise we were greeted with lots of porpoises around the inlet. There are also several restaurants located on the Barnegat bay that can be accessed by boat instead of having to worry about driving.

If you’re interested in booking a fishing charter or just going for a cruise, Call or text Captain Mike to get out on the water! (609)-709-7264

I’d like to start by wishing everyone a happy Memorial Day and hope you all had a great weekend. We spent our weekend with friends and family who have served and are still serving for our country. We would also like to say a big thank you to my cousin who just returned safely from Syria as well as thank you to our friends at New Level Clothing for their service as well.

With the bigger striped bass bite slowing down, we are switching gears to sea bass while it is still open for a few more weeks and we will also be targeting fluke. Our close friends over at New Level caught a 303lb Thresher shark this past weekend so if anyone is interested in some inshore sharking, we will also be available for that as well!

The water is warming up for fluke, sea bass is open until June 22 to fill your freezers with some of the best tasting fish out there, and threshers are in our waters close to home. Call or text Captain Mike to get out on the water! (609)-709-7264

Fishing report

5/16, Thursday afternoon, we were able to sneak in a short evening trip after work with the two people who were both huge helps in getting the boat ready for the season this year. We stayed close to home since time was limited but we had our first few fish very quickly. We had tons of knockdowns and got our first fish of the year. We released the fish so that they could swim another day. Thanks again Jess and Bill with all the help on the boat this spring.

Saturday 5/18, I had Roger and Mike with their sons James and Andy out for a 6 hour striped bass charter. The guys heard reports of big fish being caught and wanted to catch a new personal best. We started where we had fish on Thursday afternoon but the screen was empty and the boat traffic had everything broken up and spread out. We worked several different areas and put over 70 miles on the boat. We got away from the boat traffic and finally found bait with a whale feeding on them. We worked the area for a while and marked a few fish, but could not get them to cooperate and bite. When we cleared the lines for the day we had a couple stripers follow up the mojos, but they must have had lock jaw since they were not feeding for us. We gave it our best but there’s always next time!

Also over this past weekend we hosted our 2nd annual Striped Bass Tournament fundraiser for the Waretown Volunteer Fire Company. We had a great turnout with 26 boats weighing in over 50 striped bass. Fishing was tough with it being a full moon, but guys still managed to weigh in 4 fish over 50lbs, with the biggest being 59.0lbs! This is a great fundraiser for a great cause and each year it gets bigger and bigger.

Now that the full moon is on its way out, I expect fishing to improve to how it was before the full moon with striped bass as well as on the wrecks. I have Sunday 5/26 and Monday 5/27 open this weekend for striped bass or sea bass. Call or text Captain Mike to get out on the water! (609)-709-7264

It was a long winter of eagerly waiting for the spring to come to get back out fishing. Over the winter, Captain Mike became surface ice rescue certified with the Waretown Fire Department. We also made several upgrades to the boat including new Simrad electronics with 4G radar and an active imaging transducer. After a couple of sea trials to dial in the new electronics, we are ready to go!

Sea Bass season opens on May 15 and we will be ready to go out and target those tasty fish! Shortly after sea bass opens, fluke season opens on May 24. The striped bass are also showing as well as bluefish. We have lots of different options of fish to target this spring. We have some striped bass and sea bass trips booked already so call now before our days get booked up!

If you want to get in on the Spring action call or text Captain Mike! (609)-709-7264

Thursday 11/8

Today’s trip was all about the girls.  It was a tough bite with lots of knockdowns and not being able to come tight and keep all the fish on the hooks.  We had to work the bait hard for bites, but Jess and Jaimee also worked hard and managed to boat 3 nice fish up to 34lbs.  Great job girls!

Monday 11/12

With a last minute cancellation we couldn’t pass up the beautiful weather and stay tied to the dock so Jess and Shane hopped on board and we went fishing.  The morning started off with a knockdown right away but we never came tight.  We spent a good portion of the morning looking around for the right marks but it was very slow.  Finally, patience paid off after working an isolated area and we were rewarded with a nice 33lb striped bass.  We kept working that same half mile area for a while and were able to pick up and 40lber and then a smaller 15lb striper.  Once we had 3 fish in the boat for the table, we looked around in some new areas that we had all to ourselves.  We ended up going 3 for 6 on 30lb class fish which were all successfully released.  After a slow start this morning it turned out to be a great Veteran’s Day (observed) on the water with beautiful weather.  Thank you to everyone who has or is currently serving for our country, especially my cousin who is currently serving overseas in Syria.

The fall striper run is a little later than usual but it’s starting to get into full swing now with lots of bunker and sand eels around.  I have a couple dates left in November as well as several dates in December.  I plan on targeting striped bass and tautog through Christmas.  Lets get out and fish! Call or text Captain Mike to get in on the action! (609)-709-7264

COLUMBUS DAY 10/9…

We made it out on Monday for an early afternoon 4 hr. Sea Bass trip. The later start and short time window left us with minimal spots to fish since all of the local wrecks were already being fished and we could not travel far. On top of not having many spots to choose from, there was a big ground swell which made anchoring very tough. Once we anchored on the first spot, it was non stop double header action of short sea bass and porgies. After spending some time here but not finding any keepers we decided to move to look for bigger fish. I held the boat over some small hangs as was able to put together a catch of 8 keeper sea bass and a nice big trigger fish. The ocean was very alive with albies, sunfish, sea turtles, and giant bluefin all close to home.

I also have this year’s striped bass bonus tags ready to go. Now is the time to get out and fill the freezer for the winter with sea bass. Blowfish fishing also remains very good and we can target them to fill the freezer as well. I will also be targeting striped bass very soon.

The Fall is one of the best times to get out and fish with lots of species to choose from as well as mixed bag trips. Albies, bonito, bluefish, blowfish, sea bass, striped bass, tautog, you name it and we can go out and fish for it. I have dates available for sea bass and mixed bag trips. I am also booking striped bass trips. Let’s get out and fish! Call or text Captain Mike to get in on the action! (609)-709-7264

Sorry for the lack of reports, I have been busy and fluke fishing has been good recently. All of our trips have been full of action with several trips producing quality keepers as well. Some trips we saw lots of shorts but the keepers did not want to cooperate and bite. Saturday we had a tough go with finding keepers due to all the boat traffic from several tournaments going on and trying to find wrecks that weren’t plugged with boats with the short time frame that we had to fish.

This past weekend I had Tom, Kevin, and John from Manahawkin out on a 4 hr Fluke trip. It was their first time jigging for fluke and they were able to catch and release over 30 shorts up to 17″. They fished hard and we had steady action the entire trip but the keepers just didn’t want to cooperate. The keepers will bite next time guys!

There are only a few more weeks left to our fluke season and as the bite keeps heating up now is the time to get in on the action before the season closes. Lots of quality fish are being caught. I still have some dates available in September. Call or text Captain Mike to get in on the action! (609)-709-7264

Sunday 8/5 I was out on an 8hr fluke trip. The action was very slow with barely any bites or short fluke throughout portions of the day. After making several moves all over the place and having to work very hard considering we did not have a drift, we scraped together 8 nice keepers and 1 sea bass. We tried finding one more keeper to limit out but couldn’t produce. All in all it was a slow day of fishing but the keepers were all quality fish.

Last week we also made it out for a clamming trip. The weather was perfect except for a little rain and everyone had fun. The group caught enough clams for steamers, chowder, and stuffed clams.

Fluke fishing has been slowly but steadily getting a little better each trip. Some trips see much more action that others but the amount of keepers being caught is going up. I still have some dates available in August as well as September. Call or text Captain Mike to get in on the action! (609)-709-7264

Saturday 7/14 – I was out for a 6hr ocean fluke charter. We worked several wrecks in 70-80’ of water. Since we were drifting over 1.0kts most of the day, we had to grind it out by making very short drifts. The group managed to pick up 40 fluke, 5 being keepers, as well as 3 nice sea bass for the table. It was a nice day on the water and we were back at dock by time the wind started to blow up.

Fluke fishing in the ocean is picking back up now that the ground swell from the storm is laying down. I only expect the fishing to keep getting better from now on as we get deeper into the season.

To book a charter and get in on the action Call or Text Capt. Mike Villanova (609)-709-7264

Sorry for the late report…

After some last minute planning and an iffy weather forecast we headed out on our buddy boat to spend our 4th of July at the edge. With a very promising big eye report we headed to some new waters and were up on the troll an hour before first light. Within the first hour we had our first fish on the boat. We kept moving trying to find the temperature break that we were looking for. Once we found the right water with only 2 other boats in site, the bite was on and we had 3 double headers of yellowfin up to 80lbs. We never found the big eye bite that we were looking for but we ended the trip going 7/8 on yellowfin. Excellent way to spend the holiday and the weather was perfect.

We are sailing every weekend for fluke and sea bass now. When the weather permits we will also be running offshore to get in on the tuna bite but we need to keep a very close eye on the weather. Fluke fishing is picking up on the wrecks as well as some quality sea bass being caught. Call now to book a date. Capt. Mike Villanova (609)-709-7264