First run to Sandy Hook!

Well, Sunday was both exciting and disappointing on the waters of the Raritan. Steve and I started in our usual stops around the Keyport 1 Can and picked away at a few fluke. It set the tone of the day which was plenty of action but few fish of legitimate size to go into the cooler.

We were using Squid strips with Shedder Crab Oil and Spearing combination baits which seemed to do its job of attracting fish - just none above 18 inches which is the NJ minimum.

After a lull in the action, we decided to make a run to Sandy Hook to see if we could find any bunker action and snag some for Stripers. When we got there, we found plenty of boat traffic and not many signs of bunker on the surface. After a few tries at snagging, we went back to Fluking close to the beach between the Rip and the False Hook. We picked away at many more shorts, a few sea robins and a bluefish. We had to be careful not to venture into NY waters as their Fluke season is temporarily closed and having any on board would result in fines if we were stopped.

Steve earned several noteable distinctions on this trip - The shortest Fluke caught so far on the boat (must have been 12 inches or so), The only keeper (a barely 18 inch fish), and hi-hook (Steve must have out-fished me 4 to 1 catching around 20 fluke!)

It was another nice day on the water - sun, fish and SRV playing. What could be better?!!!!

First Splash

Well, its been a while since I posted. I believe this is a good time to pick up where I left off because now that there is a boat in the driveway, I should be doing a lot more fishing!

I picked up a Sea Hunt 202 Triton last month (shout to Angler's Marine in Supply NC) and so far we have had some great experiences with her in Raritan Bay NJ.

The first trip was June 7th, 2009 with my cousin Julianne and her husband Steve (who is a much better fisherman than I am) and we drifted the Keyport flats around the 1 can. We picked up 4 fluke (all short of the new 18 inch minimum size regulation) using a live killie and squid combination as bait. We also cast to breaking bluefish and hooked into a few 2-4 pound yellow eyed devils on plugs and diamond jigs. Overall, we had great weather, launched and retreived the boat successfully and managed to not get skunked on the all important maiden voyage.

The second trip was a week later on Sunday June 14th - again we launched from the Keyport ramp. Weather was a bit overcast and light winds created a small chop in the bay. After a few hours of drifting around the 1 can, we put a nice 19 inch keeper in the cooler and a small bluefish we picked up after chasing some birds. Around 1pm we circled back to the launch dock to pick up my two daughters for their first trip out on the boat. Back out on the flats, we managed more shorts and two more keepers up to 21 inches. Erica and Carolyn had a great time catching fluke but had just as much fun playing with the live killies in the bait well!

When we got home, I filleted the keepers and Nancy prepared them with a nice crabmeat stuffing - delicious!

All in all, I'd say we are off to a nice start to the season. The next trip I'm planning is to venture around the ocean side of Sandy Hook to see if we can get in on the great Striped Bass action we are seeing along the northern NJ beaches. Stay tuned!
Gary

Barnegat Bay Buffet - August 1, 2008

It was a picture perfect day on Barnegat Bay N.J. fishing with Cap't. Dave DeGennaro of Hi Flier Sportfishing. We picked up an assortment of weakfish, kingfish, seabass and bluefish.

Fishing Report by Capt. Dave DeGennaro Hi Flier June 23, 2008

I had Jan Gladstone from East Brunswick, NJ on board today for what was supposed to be a bunker dunking striper trip. We met at the dock at 5AM , fired up the motors and we were on our way. Yup...on our way to a massive fog bank that started right at the inlet and laid heavily up and down the coast as we would learn from the VHF radio listening to those who ventured out. Reports of zero visibility up to 100 feet or less were common. We jogged back and forth in the channels near the inlet to see if the fog would soon blow or burn off, but to no avail. Finally, I suggested we throw some Fin-S for bass, blues, or weaks that might be inside. Our first few drifts in Oyster Creek Channel brought only one bluefish chop. The next stop was the sod banks for the last of the outgoing tide and Jan hooked up right away to what turned out to be a 10 pound weakfish. In the next few drifts he caught two more 8 to 10 pound weakies and a small bluefish. The bite slowed up and after another failed attempt at breaking the inlet, we opted to tie up to Bobbie?s Boats in Barnegat Light and head over to Mustache Bill?s diner for some breakfast. We jumped back in the boat, tried to get outside one more time but the fog was relentless. We stopped at the sod banks for a few more casts of what was now incoming water and Jan bagged another big weakie for a total of four and one blue. We released all but one weakie that didn?t revive and you can see two of the fish in the attached photos.

I still have openings for individuals on Wed June 25 and Fri, June 27 chasing bunker and stripers as well as casting for these big weakies. I am told that live grass shrimp are now available, so we will be starting up our shrimping trips now, as well. It?s possible to do it all in one day. Start out with the stripers at daybreak and move on to the bay in the late morning/early afternoon.

The fishing down here is getting very interesting. The wind is going north/northwest and will blow the fog out as well as providing a calm ocean. Call me to go fishing.

Capt. Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell
www.hiflier.com

Fishing Report by Capt. Dave DeGennaro Hi Flier June 18, 2008

Exciting morning of fishing today. I had Kevin Veal in from the West Coast and his father in law Gene Arico of Green Brook, NJ . We found the schools of bunker right away and started snagging live bait. In a short amount of time we had a double header hookup. The first fish turned out to be a 60 pound dusky shark that amazingly did not bite the snagger off of the 40 pound flourocarbon leader. The second fish turned out to be a 40 1/2 pound striper for Gene. Kevin hooked the next fish and broke it off on an unlucky wrap around the reel handle. Later Gene decked another big bass, 36 pounds. There are plenty of bunker still around and lots of big bass chowing them down. I have trips for Thursday and Friday but the weekend is still open and I have lots of availibility during the week. I have one person who is looking to share the boat and cost for Monday, June 23 in case anyone else is looking, call me.

Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell

Fishing Report by Capt. Dave DeGennaro Hi Flier June 2, 2008

Good day today on the Hi Flier with stripers and blues. I had Al Ristori and Nick Honachefsky on board. We broke the inlet at 5:45 AM and headed north, then south, and then north again looking for schools of bunker. We finally found some schools off of Seaside Park but they were staying deep and were difficult to snag. You had to read them on your depth recorder and then drop your snagger down. We snagged a few baits this way, but our inventory got a real boost when Tony on the Maja of Maja Bunker Spoons passed us off a dozen live ones. We tried a few spots with our newly acquired live bait, but to no avail.

We headed for Barnegat Inlet which was just starting to dump out the outgoing tide and we hooked up drift after drift including three nice stripers, 15 to 22 pounds, two of which we released and some big gator blues, the 10 to 15 pound variety.

There are still a lot of bunker on the oceanside and every day brings a new adventure out there as far as where the bait appears and how many stripers are under them. This fishery will hold up at least through June but it is full on now.

Here are the pictures of Nick and Al from today.

Capt. Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell

Nick Honachefsky's Latest Report from "The Daily Journal"

After the howling nor'easter tore up the sands and crushed up zillions of clams, the big bass moved right in on the feed. You couldn't have set it up any better, as influence of the full moon tides lured them in. Not only did bass show up to play ball, but black drum and weakfish also decided to get aggressive. What a show going down in Brigantine!

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