Everyone was gunning for Al Skowronk’s 4 lb 8 oz fluke, and the $600.00 prize, but it was not to be. Al is officially the winner of the July Flukemaster Pool. Congratulations Al!!

I would not call today’s fishing terrible because we caught over 30 keepers, and I wouldn’t call it great either. The keepers seemed to add up for the same people, and the short fluke action was not what we have been seeing.  We covered a lot of bottom, starting the morning on the western end of the bay, and working our way all the way east to Sandy Hook. We found it to be exactly the same all day. We caught some fish every time, but not enought o keep us locked in on any area. Tom Salerno was high hook once again with 3 fish, and the pool winning fish was 3 3/4 pounds.

Friday, 7/30/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: High 11:26am
Water Temp: 80.2 degrees
Wind: SSE 7kts
Moon Phase – 81% and waning

Conditions: I am having a late start with the updates today thanks to some computer issues, but we have it all straightened out now. Very good conditions to start the day, and we have been catch fluke all morning with a fair amount of keepers mixed in. Artie Martin is the high hook so far with 3 keepers, and there are a few people with 2 fish.

First Drift – This was a good drift. We started all the way on the west side of the bay, and had perfect conditions. We caught the fluke good, and put some keepers on board. Artie Martin put 2 in his cooler.

Second Drift – This one was not as goos as the first.

Third Drift – Waited for a ship to come up the channel, and jumped back in. This was a good one. Artie Martin added to his total by 1, and Ken “The Legend” Havens put back-to-back keepers in his bucket.

Fourth Drift – Highlight of this drift was a killer maneating shark that wiped out one whole side of the boat that was caught by Irene Kateris.

Fifth Drift – We headed east a little ways, and had a good drift. Decent action with the shorts, and some keepers. Irene Kateris continues to catch the unexpected. This time a beautiful piece of aquarium grade Raritan Bay Coral.

Sixth Drift – Moved a little more east, and found some fish in the channel. Tom Salerno is now high hook with 4 keepers.

Fishing was good again today. Tom Salerno and Artie Martin were high hook with 4 keepers each, and Bill Venezia was today’s pool winner with a 4 lb 5 oz fluke.

Side Note: We will be running a Special Columbus Day offshore bluefish trip this year. The date is October 11th, and we are sailing at 6:30am. All tickets are sold in advance and seating is limited to the first 40 people.

Thursday, 7/29/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: High 10:48am
Water Temp: 80.4 degrees
Wind: W 8kts
Moon Phase – 89% and waning

Conditions: Wind against tide to start. Going to be a tough go for a few hours. . . The July Flukemaster Pool is now up to $450.00, and Al Skowronki is currently in the lead with a 4 lb 8 oz fluke.

First Drift – Stopped on the flats outside of our harbor, and caught a few shorts. We are moving on and heading east.

Second Drift – We are drifting VERY slowly with the wind, and pick the occasional fluke. Johnathan Theodore showed his angling prowess by catching 2 keepers on this drift.

Third Drift – We made a long one, and were very patient. When we finally got some strength to the current, we caught the fluke. Johnathan Theodore caught another keeper to add to his high hook total.

Fourth Drift – We are catching the fluke very good. Ratio is not good, but what else is new.

It was a long wait before we had any conditions to drift, but once we got some strength to the outgoing water, we started catching the fluke. Very good fishing the last two hours of the day. Johnathan Theodore was high hook with 4 keepers, and Tyler Burlew won the pool with a 4 lb fluke.

Most of the fish that we caught we loaded with crabs as most of the fish are that are caught on the eastern end of the bay. A few other fish had needlefish in them, and one had a baby sand shark in it’s stomach. Green and white Gulp worked great, as did the Gulp shrimp.

The July Flukemaster Pool is currently up to $450.00, and Al Skowronk is in the lead with a 4 lb 8 oz fluke.

Catch of the Day: Antonio caught this monstorous piece of construction fencing, and it fought the whole way up.

We will be running a Special Columbus Day offshore bluefish trip this year. The date is October 11th, and we are sailing at 6:30am. All tickets are sold in advance and seating is limited to the first 40 people.

Wednesday, 7/28/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: High 10:10am
Water Temp: 81.1 degrees
Wind: SW 6kts
Moon Phase – 94% and waning

Conditions: When we left the dock the wind was out of the west. We are set up on the far eastern end of the Reach, and the wind has shifted slightly to the SW. The tide is incoming until mid morning. It’s a beautiful day for fluking! On a side note, the July Flukemaster is now up to $420.00 and the lead fish weighs 4 lb 8 oz. Still very beatable!

First Drift – Made a stop at our buoy, but had no drifting conditions at all with the wind against the tide. Moving way east.

Second Drift – Not too good, but we did catch a couple of keepers, one weighing 4 pounds.

Third Drift – Very tough conditions with a 15kt SW wind and outgoing tide. We are not catching much, but the ones we catch are nice sized. Biggest of the day is a 5 1/2 pound fluke, and we have a few in the 4 lb range.

Fourth Drift – The conditions remain difficult, but if you can handle dragging a lot of lead, you can catch some fish. Russ Yeager leads the way with 3 keepers.

Tough conditions all day with a SW wind and outgoing tide. Everyone had to sinker up and work the problem. Those who gave in to Mother Nature and put the right sinker on caught fish. We had some very nice fish come over the rail, and a few challengers for the monthly pool, but the closest any of them got was 3 ounces off the mark. Russ Yeager was high hook with 4 keepers, and the pool winning fish weighed 5 1/2 pound (Not in the monthly).

Tuesday, 7/27/10 Live Report

Location: Flat bottom off our buoy.
Tide: High 9:31am
Water Temp: 80.4 degrees
Wind: WNW 8kts
Moon Phase – 98% and waning

Conditions: Wind against tide to start with a tide change at 9:30am. It might take some time for us to get some movement.

First Drift – Stopped where we fished yesterday, but had no conditions to drift. We are going to head out into the channel, and come back to this later.

Second Drift – No good. Just a few shorts. We have no conditions as of yet. Going to be another hour or so before we get any current.

Third Drift – A few shorts and one beast landed by Stevie Scarmazzo weighing in at 6 lb 13 oz fluke. Stevie was not in the monthly pool, so Frank’s 4 pounder is still in the lead.

Catch of the Day!

Fourth Drift – Only a few shorts. I talk about conditions all the time, and today shows you why they are so important to fluke fishing. Take yesterday for instance. We had absolute perfect conditions with the wind out of the northwest and an outgoing tide, and we slugged away at the fluke all day. Now so far this morning we have a NW wind holding us up against a flood tide, and we are not covering any bottom at all. That is why we are catching very little fluke right now. The good thing is that we have a tide change coming soon. Once we get some outgoing water we will have good conditions to drift with the wind and tide pushing us together, but until then, we are shot in the foot. . . Going to head east about a mile and see how it goes.

Fifth Drift – No good again. No conditions. going to head back to where we had our best fishing yesterday.

Sixth Drift – This is not going to work. We have no conditions at all. No current, and now the wind is flopping out. So, we are going to massage the problem, and head way to the east.

Al Skowronki is the new July pool leader with this 4 lb 8 oz fluke.

Eighth Drift – Decent drift. The conditions improved now that we have current, and we are picking away at the fluke with an occasional keeper mixed in. The keepers we caught are nice sized. One of them caught by Al Skowronki weighed in at 4 lb 8 oz, and is the new leader in the monthly pool. By the way, the Flukemaster July Pool is now up to $400.00.

It took us a very long time to get things going today. We had to wait for the outgoing current which seemed like forever, but when we finally got some movement we caught the fluke. Al Skowronki pulled up the new leader in the monthly pool weighing in at 4 lb 8 oz, and Stevie Scarmazzo won another pool this time with 6 lb 13 oz fluke.

This was inside a 4 1/2 pound fluke today.

Monday, 7/26/10 Live Report

Location: Flat bottom off our buoy.
Tide: High 8:51am
Water Temp: 79.7 degrees
Wind: W 8kts
Moon Phase – 100% full

Conditions: A flukers dream once again!! Wind and tide together. We will have outgoing water all day. . . We had very good fishing yesterday a few miles east of where we are starting. Those were the same fluke that we were catching Saturday near Sandy Hook. They have been moving west each day, and I have a feeling we are going to head them off at the pass today!

First Drift – Very good conditions, and good fishing. We are picking away at the fluke and an occasional keeper is in the mix. White is the color so far today with Gulp and squid out fishing everything else.

“The Duke” with a double header.

Second Drift –  Doug “The Duke” Kay started the drift off by catching a keeper and followed it up by saying, “You can’t skunk me!!”. Reverend Daniels soon after put back-to-back keepers in his bucket. . . . The fluke are LOADED with grass shrimp and baby flounder. They are spitting it up everywhere. On the surface, and all over the boat.

Jimmy Chambers lifting one of his 60+ fish that he caught today.

Third Drift – UUUF FAHHHHH!!! EXCELLENT fireball fishing!!! We made over a 3 hour drift, and easily caught over 350 -400 + fish. Just ridiculous fishing!! The ratio is not very good at all, but some people are doing well with the legal fish. Jimmy Chambers, Doug Kay, and John Hamor each caught over 40 fish with John putting 4 keepers in his bucket. It is surprising that even with all the bait that is in the water, and coming out of their stomachs, that the Gulp is out fishing natural bait. They are spitting up everything from baby flounder and needlefish to grass shrimp and baby porgies.

Fourth Drift -  We were carrying the fluke with us on the last one, but his drift was not the same. Going to stay in the same area, just run a little further to the west. . . John Hamor is now up to 5 keepers on the day.

John Hamor, or “J Ham” as he now goes by, hooked into his 6th keeper and threw it in the bucket for his limit!

J Ham slayed through 67 fish to catch his limit of 6 keepers.

Fifth Drift – Another drift with very good fishing. The ratio still remains way down though. Some people have caught the fluke very well and have no keepers to show for it while other are having a very good day. One of them, J Ham, caught his 6th keeper fluke of the day out of 57 fish.

Sixth Drift – Another good one to end the day.

We had some day of fishing, and the best thing about it was that we were fishing right in our own back yard. (Note to others: Wipe your feet before you stop here tomorrow!). We caught the fluke right from the get go, and plugged away until the final whistle. I would say that we caught anywhere from 400 to 450+ fish today, but the down side to it was that the ratio was poor. Doug “The Duke” Kay, Jimmy Chambers, and John Hamor put on a fluking clinic in the bow. They caught a combined 200+ fish with 11 keepers between them, and John was the allstar catching his limit of 6 fish. All three were using Spro Jigs with Gulp in different variations. Amber Shiffner was today’s major award winner. Amber took the pool with a 3 1/2 pound fluke.

Amber Shiffner won today’s pool with this 3 1/2 pound fluke.

Today’s fishing was pretty good. We are still fishing in the Reach, and had a flukers dream as far as conditions are concerned with the wind and tide together. Tom Salerno was the man again catching over 70 fluke with 3 keepers. Bob Dorn won today’s pool with a 5 lb 3 oz fluke. Bob was not in the monthly pool, therefore Frank Grossman’s 4 lb 1 oz fluke survives again. There are only 6 days left to KO Franks fish!

Bob Dorn won today’s pool with this 5 lb 3 oz fluke.

I will be back live tomorrow morning!!

We had perfect conditions with a west wind and outgoing tide all day, and had good fishing along the Reach. Tom Salerno put on a clinic (Like he usually does!) by catching over 60 fluke with 2 keepers. High hook had 4 keepers, and Mike Iskandar was today’s pool winner with a 4 lb 6 oz fluke.

Another day passes and Frank Grossman wipes the sweat off his forehead. Frank is still in the lead in the July Flukemaster Pool with a 4 lb 1 oz fluke. The pot is currently up to $380.00. If you are interested in swiping the pot from Frank, the buy iin is $10.

Also, we are bring back our annual Columbus Day bluefish trip this October 11th. Tickets are on sale now for $65 a piece. We will depart the dock at 6:30am and head offshore. Expect to return at 4:00pm.

Friday, 7/23/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: High 6:36am
Water Temp: 80.8 degrees
Wind: ESE 3kts
Moon Phase – 94% full
Conditions: Conditions will not be favorable for most of the day. That is unless we get a wind shift. Right now the wind is out of the SE and it will be up against an outgoing tide. . . On a side note, the July Flukemaster Pool is up to $370.00. Frank Grossman is still in the lead with a 4 lb 1 oz fluke.

First Drift – The first drift was not too shabby! We set up in the channel, and slow picked at the fluke which were mostly keepers. Nice treat to begin a morning!!

Second Drift – We couldn’t duplicate the fishing that we had on the first one. The wind has a little more east to it now, and is holding us up against the tide. So, we are moving on! Going to head way to the east for the next one.

Third Drift – Headed out into the ocean, and caught some fish. The dreaded keeper ratio is very good today. We are not catching a ton of fish, but it seems that the majority of them are keepers.  

Fourth Drift – This is some aquarium we fish in. We caught the shorts and some keepers along with a few man eating sharks, starfish, and sea robins.  

Fifth Drift – Not good on this one. Only a few shorts and birds. We are drifting nicely with the tide along Sandy Hook Channel.

Sixth Drift – Slow picked at the fluke with a couple of keepers coming over the rail.

Seventh Drift – We are abandoning this area. The first couple drifts here were ok, but it has been on a decline with each passing drift. Going to head back into the bay.

Eighth Drift – The wind was coming out of the SE at around 13 kts, but it had died out since we came back into the bay. We have no conditions at all right now. Only a couple of shorts.

Ninth Drift – No good, but we did catch one nice barely worn Adidas women’s sneaker size 6. (the woman was not attached)

The first couple drifts of the day were the best. After that, things kind of fell apart. It looked as if we were going to get things going for a while, but it just never materialized. We had no conditins in the bay to drift with the wind against the tide, and out in the ocean we caught more junk than we did fluke. High hook had 3 fish and Andrew Sochacki won the pool with a 4 lb fluke. . . . Frank Grossman survives another day in the July pool with his 4 lb 1 oz fluke. We caught 2 fish today that missed the mark by a couple of ounces.

Thursday, 7/22/10 Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: Low 11:49am
Water Temp: 81.9 degrees
Wind: NW 14 kts
Moon Phase – 88% full
Conditions: We will have very good conditions to start the day with an outgoing tide and NW wind.

First Drift – Caught the fish good, but no keepers.

Second Drift – No good. The bite turned off. Could be from an outbound ship that passed. We are going to head inshore and give it a shot.

Third Drift – We got set up on the flats, and we are picking away at the fluke with an occational keeper coming over the rail.

Fourth Drift – We have good conditions and are still picking away at the fluke.

Fishing was not good today. We fished the channel, on the edge and in the deep, the flats, and even a couple of ledges, and we found the same everywhere. It just flat out was not good. I stated a few days ago about how the fishing typically slows down every July for a week or two, and this year is no exception. We are a good week into subpar action with the fluke. The good thing is that it will bounce back. It is just a matter of when. We are on a full moon in a couple of days, and I think once that passes things will shape up.

Today’s high hook was Rev. Daniels with 3 fish, and the pool winner was a 3 1/2 pound fluke.

Wednesday, 7/21/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: Low 10:56am
Water Temp: 82.4 degrees
Wind: W 5 kts
Moon Phase – 81% full
Conditions: We are going to have perfect conditions to begin the day on the Reach with a tide change coming late morning.

First Drift – Good start to the day. We have perfect conditions right now. Carl Bertram got us going with the first keeper of the day.

Boston Bob caught these 2 keepers on the second drift.

Second Drift – This was a very good drift!! Plenty of shorts and a VERY good amount of keepers. Joe Diorio was high hook with the keepers putting 3 in his cooler. . . We are drifting through huge schools of bunker, and even a school of rainfish. This is why natural bait, such as spearing and peanut bunker on a plain hook are outfishing the spros and gulp. It could change as the day progresses, but for now, its all natural!

We had a cownose ray attack early in the second drift. Carl Bertram battled this one for a good 5 + minutes before we got his hook back and released it into the wild.

Third Drift – We are on the change of tide right now. There is no current at all, and we are moving very slightly with a light west breeze.

Some of the giant schools of bunker that are swimming past the boat.

Fourth Drift – Still on the change and have no movement at all. We made this one a little south of the channel, but it was no good. Going to jump back into the channel.

Fifth Drift – Not good. We headed east a good ways, but it is still the same. The wind is coming out of the south now very light. We need to get some strength to the current or we are done!

Sixth Drift - A few shorts and a keeper.

The second drift of the day was the best. We had a change of tide bite and put 20 or so keepers in the boat, and we did not see much after that. High hook was Joe Diorio with 3 fish, and the pool winner was a 3 1/2 pound fluke.

Tuesday, 7/20/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: Low 9:59am
Water Temp: 81.7 degrees
Wind:  NNW 5 kts
Moon Phase – 72% full
Conditions: We are going to have ok conditions to start with a light NW wind and and incoming tide for about an hour. After that it is going to be tough.

First Drift – Only a few shorts. We do not have much current to push us.

Second Drift – No good. Changing it up and heading east.

Third Drift – A couple of keepers and a slow pick of shorts. Not enough to keep us here. Going to head into the ocean.

Fourth Drift – No current. No wind. No movement. No fluke.

Fifth Drift – We finally have some movement from the incoming tide, and we are starting to pick the fish. A few keepers on this one.

Sixth Drift – We came back into the bay, and had the best drift of the day. John Lipari put 2 keepers in his cooler.

Fishing was not great today. I wouldn’t call it horrible because we ended up with more keepers than I originally thought, but overall it was not good. We covered a lot of bottom, starting the day on the western side of the bay, and ending up in the ocean at one point. It was the same all over. Every year in July we go through a period of slow fishing, so it is nothing to get alarmed about. It is just a matter of time before they turn back on. Today’s high hook was John Lipari with 3 fish, and Larry Balk was the pool winner with a 4 lb fluke. . . Frank Grossman is still the leader in the pool for the month of July with a 4 lb 1 oz fish. The pot is currently up to $330.00. If you feel like knocking Frank off of the leader board, and have not yet entered the Flukemaster Monthly Pool, get in now! 4 lb 1 oz is not a very big fish, and there is still time to take Frank down!!

Monday, 7/19/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: Low 8:57am
Water Temp: 78.4 degrees
Wind:  W 7 kts
Moon Phase – 62% full
Conditions: We are going to have a quick shot in the morning with the wind and current together, but unless the wind changes, it is going to be a long day with the wind against the tide on the Reach. There were a few very big fluke caught on private boats this weekend. We are going to hit the usual spots where we have found bigger fluke in the past, and see if we can’t get in on the action.

First Drift – We caught a few fish on the first one. Conditions were good. Alex Cooper got us started off with the first keeper of the day, and a couple more followed.

Second Drift – We had good conditions, but just didn’t catch much. We are making a small move to the east.

Third Drift – Picked away at the fluke, but the ratio is tough again today. Despite an unfavorable ratio, we put a few keepers in the buckets.

Fourth Drift – The little bit of wind that is coming out of the west is holding us up against the current. Picked some shorts with a keeper.

Fifth Drift – This was the best one so far. We headed to the east quite a ways, and had a good shot of fish. Going to do it again.

Sixth Drift – We are moving very slowly with the wind. This drift was just ok. We pick at the shorts slowly.

The fishing was just ok today. We did not have good conditions for most of the day, and the ratio was horrible. We worked the Reach from the western edge all the way to the eastern side, and it was the same everywhere. High hook was Tim O’Rourke with 3 fish, and the pool winner was Fred Wacker with a 4 lb fluke.

Fishing was not good today. We started all the way on the western side of the bay, and ended up in Sandy Hook Bay. It was the same all over. Just not enough bites. Tom Salerno was high hook with 4 keepers.

Fishing was very good today, but the ratio was not. It was a tough day to get keepers. High hook was Tom Salerno with 3 keepers.

This is the first blowfish we have seen in quite a few years.

Friday, 7/16/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: Low 6:11am
Water Temp: 76.9 degrees
Wind:  SW 3 kts
Moon Phase – 29% full
Conditions: A very light SW breeze, and an incoming tide for most of the day. Right now the tide should be strong enough to push us against a very light wind. We are going to get set up on the Reach and let it fly!

Bob Heiser started us off with the first keeper of the day.

First Drift – Very good first drift. There is just enough south to the breeze to help push us with the tide. Bob Heiser caught the first keeper of the day. Art Sevret was one of three anglers with 2 keepers on the drift. Since yesterday there has been a change in the color of the Gulp that the fluke prefer. The color of the day is white.

Second Drift – The wind shifted and is now coming out of the NE making for excellent drifting conditions. We picked away on this one again. There is a lot of ship traffic today which is hampering the fishing. Everytime we get things going, a ship comes through. Two people are tied for high hook with 3 fish. . . As we run up to make our third drift I can see 4 outbound ships, and 1 inbound.  One ship and one tug/barge are full and deep. This churns up the bottom and spooks the fish for a while. Might be a long wait before things get settled again.

Third Drift – The ship traffic has hurt the fishing, however, they seem to be hitting the natural bait somewhat. Alan Abramson was using spearing when he landed a 4 1/2 pound fluke on this drift. Spro and gulp are not working right now. It will be a little while before the fluke become aggressive again.

Alan Abramson is the man to beat right now. Alan caught this 4 1/2 pound fluke on the third drift.

Fourth Drift – The ship traffic did us in. Fishing is not good right now.

Fifth Drift – Made one away from the channel, and it was more of the same. Only a few shorts.

Sixth Drift – More of the same.

Today was a tale of two different stories. The first few hours which were excellent, and the rest of the day which was terrible. The ship traffic could have been a factor, but I think that once we got some strengh to the current, they just simply just did not want to eat. Alan Abramson won the pool with a 4 1/2 pound fluke, and high hook had 4 fish.

Also, the leader in the July pool is Paul Franek with a 4 lb 1 oz fish. This is a VERY beatable fluke. The pot is currently up to $300.00, and it is $10.00 to buy in. So, come on down and take Frank down!!

Thursday, 7/15/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: High Noon
Water Temp: 74.3 degrees
Wind:  NE 8 kts
Moon Phase – 20% full
Conditions: Incoming water for most of the trip. We will have excellent conditions with the light NE wind.

First Drift – Good fishing on the first one. We set up way in the back of the bay, and had perfect conditions to drift the egde of the channel. Picked away at the shorts. We had at least one on at all times, and we did put a few keepers on the boat too. Bob Damico started us off with the first keeper. Rich Wallwork and Alex Collins followed with a pair of 3 lb fish. High hook on the drift was Stevie Scarmazzo with 2 fish up to 4 pounds.

Second Drift – Still picking at the shorts. not as good as the first one, but we are catching them. Russ Yeager just put his second keeper in the box.

Third Drift – Made a L O N G one and caught fish the whole way! Excellent fishing!! The wind is pushing us just enough with the tide. We cover a good amount of ground, and are putting fish in the boat. Best drift in over a week!!

Fourth Drift – We made a fast one for the last drift of the day, and it wasn’t good. The tide has turned and is up against the tide.

Today’s fishing was the best in over a week. We caught a ton of fish and threw a very good number in the buckets. High hook on the day was Joe Diorio with 5 keepers, and the pool winner was Stevie Scarmazzo with a 4 lb 5 oz fluke.

Wednesday, 7/14/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: High 10:40am
Water Temp: 77.5 degrees
Wind:  SSE 8 kts
Moon Phase – 11% full
Conditions: Incoming tide for most of the morning. SE wind will help push us along.

First Drift – Very good start to the day. We set up on the Reach and had good conditions to catch the fluke. Barbara Henry started us off with the first keeper of the day, weighing over 4 lb’s. Her father Carl Bertram was close behind with the second keeper of the day. We caught the fish the whole way. Running up for a redux.

Second Drift – Made a short one. Had to get out of channel for an outbound ship. Going to jump back in and see how it goes! . . . We are starting to lose the current, and the wind has layed down to almost nothing. We are going to go through a tough stretch here until we get some tide.

Third Drift – We have no movement right now. The highlight of the drift, now this is a first, was a beaver. Yes, you read that correctly. We caught a beaver. It was dead, and 100% identified. Unfortunately, it was released back to the sea before I could get a picture of it. 

Fourth Drift – No good. No movement. No fluke.

Fifth Drift – We slow pick at the shorts. The wind is out of the east at around 8 kts, and it will be up against the tide when it starts to run. Difficult conditions for fluke.

Sixth Drift – Conditions are beating us right now, but we did catch a few nice sized keepers. Have to move for a ship. Going to head way to the west.

The first drift of the day was the best. After that it went downhill slowly. Jesus Alvarez was the pool with a 4 lb 5 oz fluke. . . . Once again, I am having camera issues. All pictures will be up after Thursday’s morning trip.

Jesus Alvarez with his pool winning 4 lb 5 oz fluke.

We are nearly half way through the month and Frank Grossman is leading the pool with a 4 lb 1 oz fluke. The pot is currently up to $380.00. If you are not in, get in before you catch something that is better than Frank’s fish because it is very beatable!

Tuesday, 7/13/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: High 9:41am
Water Temp: 75.4 degrees
Wind:  E 4 kts
Moon Phase – 6% full
Conditions: We should have very good  conditions to start with the wind and tide together. We will see how things go.

First Drift – Made a long one to start, and we had decent fishing. Highlight of the drift was a 4 lb fluke that was caught by 10 yr old Colin. Right now we have a light east wind with a flood tide making for nice conditions on the Reach.

Second Drift – Starting to lose the tide. Only picked a few.

Third Drift – Better on this one . Caught a few keepers and had a pick of shorts.

Fourth Drift – The day is deteriorating, and so is the fishing.

Fifth Drift – It has rained on us for the last couple of hours, and completely ruined the fishing.

We caught the fluke very good this morning, but once the rain started, the fluke got lockjaw. The ratio was not good at all, but that seems to be the trend the last few days. Colin Fernandez won the pool with a 4 lb fluke.

Monday, 7/12/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: High 8:56am
Water Temp: 77.2 degrees
Wind: W 4 kts
Moon Phase – 1% full
Conditions: Wind against tide to start the morning, but we have a tide change around mid-morning. We should be sitting pretty after that.

First Drift – We had to wait a while for the tide to change, so we set up in the channel and let it go. We were very patient and caught the fluke pretty good. The ratio so far is not great, but we did throw a few in the boat. Joe Illuzzi started us off with the first keeper of the day, a few more followed. We are just starting to drift out with the wind and tide. Going to head to the west about a 1/2 mile, and see how things shape up.

Second Drift – We lost the wind and the current is running very light. Going to head way to the back of the bay and see if we can catch some current coming out of the river.

Third Drift – Still not moving too much. Only a few shorts. Going to head all the way to the western edge.

Fourth Drift – This is not working out. We are completely changing it up, and heading east.

Fifth Drift – Headed back to the Reach, and picked the shorts with a few keepers mixed in. High hook on the day has 3.

Sixth Drift – We have perfect conditions right now with a light westerly breeze pushing us with the tide. Had a little shot of keepers along with some shorts.

Seventh Drift – Made this one on a ledge a little inshore of the channel. 1 fish, 1 keeper. Good ratio.

The fishing was good at time, and slow at times. It seemed that once the tide began to run, the fluke stopped biting. We had a good shot of fish early on the change, but it was inconsistent after that. High hook had 4 keepers, and Cosmo Harrell and Rev Daniels tied for the pool with a 4 lb fluke. I’m having some issues with my camera, so the pictures that I took today will be posted later tonight.

Saturday’s fishing was good. We caught a lot of fish, and had some keepers also. Jim Handy was high hook with 3 fish. Tom “The Killie Man” was back for the second time, and threw 2 fish in his cooler.

Sunday’s fishing was good, but the keeping was not good. We started all the way on the western side of the bay, and worked our way east. The ratio never changed. John Bottles won the pool with a 4 lb fluke.

Friday, 7/9/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: High 6:00am
Water Temp: 76.3 degrees
Wind: ESE 7 kts
Moon Phase – 7% full
Conditions: Wind against tide on the Reach. Going to give it a shot, and see how it goes. Most likely going to have to head east.

First Drift – No good. No movement at all. heading east to Sandy Hook Bay.

Second Drift – Fishing is not too good right now. We slow pick at the shorts with only a few keepers so far.

Third Drift – We have some very good fishing right now. The keeping isn’t great, but we are bailing the fluke.

Fourth Drift – This one was not too good. Going to turn the boat around and see how it goes. . . The SE wind is up to around 15 kts.

Fifth Drift – We are beating up the fluke, however, 99% of them are short. A couple of guys have told me that they are up to around 40 fish without a keepers. . . We are going to head into the Reach in hopes of changing that.

Sixth Drift – More of the same. We catch fish, but the ratio is WAY down.

Fishing was excellent today. We had some very shining moments, however, it didn’t shine down when it came to keeping. The ratio was extremely low all day. Doug Kay won today’s pool with a 4 lb 4 oz fluke.

Two year ago today, on a slow July afternoon, Doug Kay, from Union Beach, NJ, hooked into what would be a 10 1/2 pound fluke. Doug would soon find himself thrust into the fluker celebrity limelight. After his 15 minutes were up, Doug began dreaming of recapturing the fame that had passed him by. So today, on the anniversary of his catch, he hoped to duplicate the greatness that was a double digit fluke. . . . As you read earlier, Doug won the pool on the anniversary of his doormat. Not a beast, but it was a pool winner!

It has been a long time since this has been requested. This morning on the way out I had to perform a “Short Fluke Exorcism”. Now this is a very serious demon that has been haunting Mike English all season. After many years of proving himself on the fluke grounds, something changed within. Since the start of the 2010 fluke season Mike hasn’t been himself. He has put together an incredible stretch of undersized fluke. Something needed to change. So, without hesitation, Mike came to me. After a short service, Mike was rid of the short fluke demons that were pestering him. We will see if the service paid off today! . . . . Well, Mike ended up with 30 shorts, and no keepers, and he told me to throw my certification overboard. So, I did. I only paid $4.99 for it on some website.

Thursday, 7/8/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: Low 11:27am
Water Temp: 78.9 degrees
Wind: SE 6 kts
Moon Phase – 14% full
Conditions: Outgoing water for most of the morning up against a light SE wind. Not going to be the best drifting conditions.

First Drift – We have very little movement at all. There is a light SE wind that is pushing us slowly against the tide. We probably covered about the length of a football field worth of bottom. . . Jeff Lukowich started us off with the first keeper of the day, and Ken “The Legend” Havens followed with a 3 1/2 lb fish. It’s going to be one of those mornings where you have to make it happen. You can’t sit there with your rod in your hand and not move it at all. You need to work the bait in order for your fluking hopes and dreams to come true!

Second Drift – Not bad. We are barely moving, and we are slow picking at the fluke. The ratio has been pretty good so far today. We put a half dozen in the buckets on this one.

Third Drift – Conditions are terrible. We are not moving at all, and did not catch too many on this one. Going to head east a little ways and see if we can get some movement. We will come back to this on the tide change. There are a good amount of fish here. We just need some float to get them.

Fourth Drift – Not good. Only caught a few shorts.

Fifth Drift – We are just slow picking at the fluke. It is not good right now. Going to set up for the tide change.

Sixth Drift – Made a move back to the west, and we landed on them. Caught the fluke great for ten minutes. Running up to do it again.

Fishing was pretty good today, however, the keeping was sporadic. Some people did very good with the legal fish, while others struggled to get one in the bucket. One person who did not struggle was Paul Franek. Paul was high hook with 4 keepers, and “The Sherriff” Jeff Lukowich threw in 3. Louis Buonocore came from behind in the very late innings to steal the pool with a 4 lb 5 oz fluke.

Wednesday, 7/7/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: Low 10:32am
Water Temp: 78.4 degrees
Wind: N 8 kts
Moon Phase – 22% full
Conditions: Conditions will be ok to start. Going to let the wind push us around.

The return of “The Killie Man”!! Tom is back after a two year hiatus, and put his first fluke in a bucket!

First Drift – EXCELLENT fishing to start. Non-stop fluke for the first hour and ten minutes of the day. High hook has 2 keepers.

Second Drift – It wasn’t as fireball as the first one, but it wasn’t too shabby either. Put a few more keepers in the boat.

Carl Bertram caught the second keeper of the day early on the first drift.

Third Drift – Another good one! We caught a couple of 4 lb fish along with some other keepers and shorts.

Carl Bertram is having a fine day as he holds his 4 lb fluke caught on the last drift.

Fourth Drift – We are having a very good day with the fluke consistantly biting on each drift. Put a few more keepers on board, and Frank Grossman took over the lead in the July edition of the Flukemaster Pool with a 4 lb 1 oz fish.

Fifth Drift – And it continues. . .

Sixth Drift – We are pluggin away at the fluke. A few keepers again on this one.

Today’s fishing was great. We caught fish on every drift all day. High hook was Pete Sabo with 4 keepers, and Frank Grossman won the pool with a 4 lb 1 oz fluke. Frank also took the early lead in the July Flukemaster Pool.

The fluke were hungry and bit on everything. It didn’t matter if it was natural bait, artificial bait, or a jig, they just wanted to eat.

Frank Grossman won the pool with this 4 lb 1 oz fluke.

Tuesday, 7/6/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: Low 9:35am
Water Temp: 78.4 degrees
Wind: NNW 4 kts
Moon Phase – 31% full
Conditions: Hot, hazy & humid! It’s summer in NJ. . . We have a light NW breeze pushing us with the last of the outgoing water.

First Drift – We barely moved at all, but caught 3 keepers, and a dozen shorts. It’s a much better start than the past few days.

Christina Kozachek holding one of her 3 keepers so far today.

Second Drift – This drift wasn’t bad. We caught a half dozen keepers, and picked some shorts. High hook has 3 keepers. Also, it looks like the first ever Coast Guard issued shark warning was on the money. We had a major shark infestation for about ten minutes.

Third Drift – This is the first one without a keeper. Going to make a move east down the Reach.

Fourth Drift – We are not moving at all, but we are picking at the fish. High hook now has 4 keepers. . . I like what I see so far today. We are catching the fluke, and putting a fair amount in the coolers, all without a drift. Now, if we get any kind of movement, I think we might have mohawk fluking potential. We will see. .

Fifth Drift – This was a very good drift!! The father and son team of Gary & Tyler Murdoch put on a fluking clinic up in the pulpit!! Gary now has his limit of 6 fish, and his son Tyler is not far behind with 3. . . We had to move for an outbound tug and barge. Hopefully it does not disrupt the fluke bite.

Sixth Drift – It took a while, but we started catching them again, but unfortunately, we had to move for an inbound ship. The tag team combo of Gary & Tyler added another keeper to their total, and Tom DiStanislao caught a 5 lb fluke as we were reeling up our lines to move.

Seventh Drift – Another decent drift with a pick of shorts, and some keepers.

Fishing was MUCH improved today. We found fish in the channel, and picked away all day. Some people did better than others with the keepers, like Gary and Tyler Murdoch. Gary and Tyler were one fluke away from a double limit. Gary caught his limit of 6, and Tyler added 5 to the bucket. Tom DiStanislao was today’s pool winner with a 5 lb 2 oz fluke.

What worked – A Spro jig on the bottom with a high hook 12″ above. As has been the case all season, chartreuse Gulp paired up with the Spro and high hook was the key to success.

What they were eating – Grass shrimp! They spit it up when they were on the surface. They spit it up on the deck. They spit it up on the anglers. When I was filleting, their stomachs were loaded with it.

It was another vacation day for the fluke. We covered a lot of ground, and found the same everywhere. It just wasn’t good. Hopefully tomorrow things will shape up again!

Fishing was not good again today. Mike Stankiewicz, Saddle Brook, NJ won the pool with a 4 1/2 pound fluke.

This holiday weekend is one of the biggest vacation times of the year, and from the look of things Saturday, the fluke were on vacation too. The only bright spot to a very dismal day was a 6 lb 1 oz fluke caught by Mike Spedaliere Jr.

Thursday, 7/1/10 Live Report

Location: Sandy Hook Bay
Tide: High 12:00pm
Water Temp: 76.1 degrees
Wind: NW 14 kts
Moon Phase – 78% full
Conditions: July 1st! Yikes!! We are starting off another day with a pretty good NW wind. That’s ok though because it will push us in with the tide.

First Drift –  Started the drift on fire, but it slowed up after twenty minutes or so. Bill Venezia had an all-star drift catching 3 keepers.

Second Drift – We had some shots of fish, but we also went through some spots that were like the Mojave Desert. The keeper ratio seems to be slightly better though.

Third Drift – We go through stretches where we catch nothing, and then we get a shot of fish and catch 15 – 20. Right now, this is what it is. It’s not the same fishing as yesterday, and as you know, you can’t catch yesterday’s fish. They’re already filleted. . . Bill Venezia continues to be the hot hand. Bill is now up to 4 keepers. . . We might get a little magic in an hour with the change of tide. We will see!

Fourth Drift - We caught a couple of keepers despite the fishing not being too good. Going to make a small shift. 

Fifth Drift – No good.  Going to change the area.

Sixth Drift – We had a change of tide bite, but unfortunately most of the fish were shorts.

Today’s fishing was nothing like yesterday’s. It wasn’t terrible, but it was great either. The ratio was down, but some people fared better than others, like Tom Salerno and Bill Venezia. Tom and Bill both caught 4 keepers, and Tom won the pool with a 4 1/2 pound fluke.

We were limited with where we could fish today. The conditions on the Reach would have been terrible with the NW wind against a flood tide, and our only option was to head into Sandy Hook Bay and let the wind push us along with the water going into the river. It wasn’t a bad option considering the fishing that we had yesterday, but unfortunately it wasn’t as good.

It’s a new month, and anyone who would like to get into the Flukemaster Pool for the month of July should get in early before you catch a quality fish. We have caught a very good number of big fish this season, and you don’t want to miss out on winning the pot!

Wednesday, 6/30/10 Live Report

Location: Sandy Hook Bay
Tide: High 11:26am
Water Temp: 74.1 degrees
Wind: NW 11 kts
Moon Phase – 85% full
Conditions: There is a stiff NW breeze today. We are going to begin the day in Sandy Hook Bay and let the breeze push us along with the tide.

First Drift – Not too bad. We picked away at the shorts with a few keepers coming aboard. Momma Lou caught the first keeper of the day, and Louie III followed soon after. Running up to do it again.

Momma Lou and Louie III started us off with these 2 keepers.

Second Drift – Fishing is good today. We are drifting perfectly and catching the fluke. Small teaser jigs and gulp are working great.

Joe and Boston Bob holding 2 of their keepers from this drift.

Third Drift – We are still picking away at the fish with some keepers coming over the rail. We are still in Sandy Hook Bay.

Hank just put this fish in his bucket.

Fourth Drift – We are having a very good day of fluking with fish all around the boat. Nothing huge yet today, but there are some very nice fish. We are not going to mess with success! Heading up to make the same drift.

Fifth Drift – Fishing has been excellent today. We are catching the fluke and putting a good number of fish in the buckets. High hook so far today has 4 fish.

Sixth Drift – And the beat goes on!! Finished the day with excellent fishing! Jimmy Bufis was the star of the drift hitting back-to-back-to-back-to-back homers. 4 keepers in a row!

We didn’t catch another 11 1/2 fluke, but the weather was absolutely beautiful, and the fishing was great right from the get go. It was easily the best day of fishing and keeping that we have had since the Monday before the full moon. 4 people tied for high hook with 4 fish, and the pool winner was a 4 pound fish.

Fluke were caught on everything from natural bait to jigs and Gulp. Small jigs or bucktails tied on as a high hook seemed to do the best. And by small jigs, I mean under an ounce of weight with a 3 or 4 ounce spro on the bottom acting as the sinker. Charteuse Gulp still remains to be the hot ticket. You can put it on a plain hook, or add it to a jig or bucktail.

This is a new body of fish that moved into the bay, which is great for all us flukers. These fish will soon move into the channel and into the back bay just as the last body did. What does that mean for us? It just means that there are more fluke to be caught.

With today being the last day of June, it is time to crown Jeff Lukowich the champion of the month in the Flukemaster pool with his 7 lb 8 oz fish. Congratulations Jeff!!

“Mr. June” Jeff Lukowich