We will be running a special Columbus Day bluefish trip on Monday, October 11th, from 6:00am to 4:00pm. Tickets are on sale now and are limited to the first 35 people who sign up.

Thursday, 9/23/10 Live Report

Location: Sandy Hook
Tide: High 8:28am
Water Temp: 70.1 degrees
Wind: NW 3 kts
Moon Phase – 100% Full

Special Notice – The Captain John has received the Extended Season Fluke Permit which will allow us to continue fishing for fluke after the September 6th closing date. Our schedule will remain the same through September.

We will be running a Special Offshore Bluefish Trip on Monday, October 11th from 6:30am to 4:00pm. You can email me for more information or call John at 609-448-1641.

Conditions – We can only go up!! And that’s the truth after the way fishing has been over the past few days. The early word on the street is that the ocean has finally settled down. We are going to make our way into the Atlantic, and see if we can put any kind of catch together. . . We will begin the morning on slack tide, and have outgoing water for the remainder of the trip. . . Changed things up today and headed out to Ambrose Channel. We haven’t fished here in a few weeks, and the conditions are perfect for it. Going to get set up and let it fly!!

First Drift - Sometimes this fluking is enough to make you want to stick your head in a vice and give it a few turns! We got ourselves set up in Ambrose with a light NW breeze and the beginning of the outgoing water which would have given us PERFECT conditions, but as we started fishing the wind came around out of the east just enough to hold us up against the tide. We didn’t drift 30 feet the whole time we were fishing. . . Caught 2 sea bass and a giant maneating shark.

Second Drift – No good. Once again we didn’t drift 10 feet. We stopped with the bow directly in front of a buoy, and ten minutes later, the bow was still directly in front of the buoy. Giving up on this and heading to Sandy Hook. 

Third Drift – We set up where we have been fishing for over a week now, and finally started to pick at the fish including a 5 pound fluke caught by Robert Good.

Fourth Drift – We are picking away at the fluke better than we have in over a week. The only problem now is finding some keepers. We are going to head south down the beach a ways and see how it goes.

Fifth Drift – Ok. No keepers to the south, and no fluke either. Going to run back up to the north.

Sixth Drift – Made this one in shallow water around the northern tip of the Hook. Only a few shorts were caught. Making the next one in the channel.

The fishing was good early in the day, and slowed as the current started to run. Robert Good was today’s pool winner with a 5 pound fluke.

Wednesday, 9/22/10 Live Report

Location: Sandy Hook
Tide: High 7:53am
Water Temp: 69.6 degrees
Wind: WSW 13 kts
Moon Phase – 99% Full

Special Notice – The Captain John has received the Extended Season Fluke Permit which will allow us to continue fishing for fluke after the September 6th closing date. Our schedule will remain the same through September.

We will be running a Special Offshore Bluefish Trip on Monday, October 11th from 6:30am to 4:00pm. You can email me for more information or call John at 609-448-1641.

Conditions – We begin the morning with a southwest wind around 12 knots, and we are right on the change of tide which will be outgoing for the majority of the trip. There is still a roll in the ocean, but it is not as bad as it has been prior to today.

First Drift – We got ourselves set up just on the outside of Sandy Hook and let it fly! And “fly” is the key word here because all we caught were birds. We did catch 2 shorts right off the bat. Going to get tucked in way up on the beach for the next one.

Second Drift – OK. That didn’t work. All birds and just a few shorts. Going to run up the beach about a half mile, and get tucked inshore again.

Third Drift – Russ Yeager officially got us started off with the first keeper of the day which weighed in at 4 pounds. We did see more fluke on this one. Running up for a redux.

Fourth Drift – Not so hot. Only a few shorts.

Fifth Drift – Russ Yeager is single handedly trying to catch our remaining quota all on his own. Russ now has two keepers. Running up to the northern tip again.

Sixth Drift – This one was no good. Heading back into the bay.

Seventh Drift – Made this one on the Reach, and only caught one short.

Eighth Drift – Stopped at a ledge off the southern side of the bay, and had our best drift thus far. We didn’t get any keepers out of it, but we did catch some fluke.

Fishing was not good again today. We made a few drifts in the ocean, and worked our way into the bay. The roll in the ocean, while manageable, was very apparent, and unfortunately we will not know if the fish are still there until the roll subsides.  Now I know I have been talking about the conditions in the ocean for over a week, and by now it seems as if I am making an excuse, but it is quite the contrary. When there is a heave, or roll, in the ocean, each roll will grow steeper as they get closer to shore, and in return, this puts pressure on the sea floor. Fluke typically will not eat when this happens, and if it continues to long, they will eventually move offshore into deeper water so the effect of a big sea are minimal. This may have happened to the body of fish that we were catching, but we will not know for sure until it is calm, and we can give it an honest shot.

Tuesday, 9/21/10 Live Report

Location: Sandy Hook
Tide: High 7:16am
Water Temp: 69.6 degrees
Wind: NNE 3 kts
Moon Phase – 97% Full

Special Notice – The Captain John has received the Extended Season Fluke Permit which will allow us to continue fishing for fluke after the September 6th closing date. Our schedule will remain the same through September.

We will be running a Special Offshore Bluefish Trip on Monday, October 11th from 6:30am to 4:00pm. You can email me for more information or call John at 609-448-1641.

Conditions – A nice crisp morning to begin the day. Sunday was our last day out and fishing was terrible. There was a big roll in the ocean which grew even bigger with yesterday’s winds, but today is a new day. It is a beautiful morning with a very light northerly wind, and we have a new outlook! Sure, there is still a roll which we feel all the way in the back of the bay, but it shouldn’t hamper our efforts. Hopefully, it doesn’t keep the fluke hunkered down. . . We will have outgoing water for the majority of the trip. . . On a side note, which has nothing to do with the fluke, I have talked to a few people about recently about seeing very few albacore in the bay this year. Well, today as we pulled out of our dock, we passed them just outside of the sailboats. . . . Also, I’ll post a couple of pictures later of two different baitfish that we caught on Saturday. One was snagged by a Spro, and the other was spit up by a fluke. See if you can identify them. The great Tom Salerno picked them both off without hesitation!

First Drift – 2 of the first 5 fish were keepers, and then we went through a dry spell where we would pick the very occational short or sea robin. There is still a pretty good sized roll in the ocean, and we are fishing tight to the beach which is making the roll seem even bigger. Daniel Disney (No relation to Walt or Mickey) who is out celebrating his birthday, got a nice present with the first keeper on the boat. Tom Sacco soon followed with a nice 20″ fluke. . . We are running back up to make another drift.

Second Drift – No good. A few shorts and a couple of skates. We are going to run down to the south a good ways and see if it’s any better.

Third Drift – This one was not any better. Going to head north and make one in the channel.

Fourth Drift – Not enough fish for all of the rolling around we were doing. Heading to the trench off the tip of the hook.

Fifth Drift – We picked at the fluke, however, all were short.

Sixth Drift – A very slow pick of fluke. Making a move near the Amno Pier.

Seventh Drift -We finished the day with only a few shorts caught. Highlight of the drift was watching a few sturgeon jump around the boat.

Fishing was not good today. Our first drift was the best, and it just went downhill from there. Conditions in the ocean were not good. The roll that I keep talking about was still big enough to hamper our efforts, and keep the fluke hunkered down, or at least that’s what I hope. Can I tell you that those fish are still there? No. We won’t know for another day or two when things settle down, and we can give it an honest shot. What I can tell you is we did catch some on our first drift, very close to the beach, where we had our best success last week. I can also tell you that there are still fluke in our harbor along with a good amount of bait. We will see how things go tomorrow. I have a feeling that they will be better than they were today.

Ok. On to the baitfish I wrote about this morning. Here are two pictures of fish we found on Saturday.

This fish is called a Lookup, and was snagged by a jig that Tom Salerno was using. We went over a giant school of these fish. John read them on the machine,and Tom could feel his braided line going through the school of them.

This is a Goby, and was about an inch long. It was spit up along with 10 – 15 others just like it.

   Fishing was slow over the weekend. Saturday was the better of the two days, but that’s not saying much because Sunday was a clunker. The storm that is off the coast to our south has produced a roll in the ocean which has increased each day, shutting down the fluking, and making it difficult for us to fish the areas where we have had the most success. We found the fish very tight to the beach last week, however, we are unable to get that close to the shore line because of the roll, and were relegated to trying some new spots that just simply did not have any fluke on them. 
   This fishing will bounce back, but unfortunately it is going to take a few days for the roll to subside. Once it does there is no doubt in my mind that things will get rolling again. Our harbor has been loaded with baitfish such as peanut bunker, spearing and rainfish, and we catch the fluke from the dock after work and between trips. These fish will eventually bunch up and move out. When they do, we will be waiting for them, but like I said, it will just take a few days.

Wednesday, 9/15/10 Live Report

Location: Sandy Hook
Tide: High 1:55pm
Water Temp: 69.4 degrees
Wind: NW 16 kts
Moon Phase – 53% Full

Special Notice – The Captain John has received the Extended Season Fluke Permit which will allow us to continue fishing for fluke after the September 6th closing date. Our schedule will remain the same through September.

Conditions – We are going to head back to where we have been fishing for a week now, and let it roll. The tide will be incoming all day, and there is a a stiff NW wind around 20 kts.

First Drift – We started out just like we have been. Super!! Fishing is very similar to yesterday whereas we are pulling right up to the shoreline and letting the wind, which has increased to around 20 kts, push us off. We had very good fishing and put a 1/2 dozen keepers on the boat. Carl Bertram started us off with the first keeper of the day.

Second Drift – Another great drift. The fluke fishing is at it’s best right now!!! Dennins Pedinoff led the way with an 8 pound fluke.

Third Drift – This one started off good, but turned into shark week. Caught a few more keepers.

Fourth Drift – Another big fish. This one weighing 6 pounds and was caught by Mike Donahue. There is a good body of fish close to the beach. Still making shorts drifts over them.

Fifth Drift – We still catch the fluke up along the beach. Have a slider going with the wind and tide, but we are working the problem and catching the fluke including a 4 1/2 pounder which was caught by Ed Burke.

Sixth Drift – Well, all good streaks have to come to an end. This drift stunk! Going to make one offshore in the channel.

Seventh Drift – Oy Vey!! Heading back into the beach. Terrible conditions for the channel.

Eighth Drift – We pulled back up to the beach, and caught a few more keepers to finish out the day.

For the most part, fishing was very good again. It seemed to shut down late in the trip, but overall it was good. We caught a couple of big fish again. Dennins Pedinoff won the pool with an 8 pound fluke, and  Mike Donahue caught a 6 pounder.

Tuesday, 9/14/10 Live Report

Location: Sandy Hook
Tide: High 1:30pm
Water Temp: 70.0 degrees
Wind: NW 6 kts
Moon Phase – 42% Full

Special Notice – The Captain John has received the Extended Season Fluke Permit which will allow us to continue fishing for fluke after the September 6th closing date. Our schedule will remain the same through September.

Conditions – We will have a flood tide for the whole trip, and there is a light northwest wind that will not effect us. . . We are going to head right back to where we have had super fishing for almost a week now.

First Drift – We caught some fluke. Caught some birds, and caught a skate. We did not catch a keeper.

Second Drift – Caught a keeper right away, and had some very big short fluke. It is a killer to throw them back, but as the conservation officer’s say, “If it’s short, it’s short!” . . . . Ugh!!!!

Third Drift - Good drift. We had some very good moments, and threw a few keepers in the buckets.

Fourth Drift – A 6 pounder to start the drift! Now that’s how you do it!! Good fishing again. The fluke are tight to the beach. We are running up and letting the NW wind push us out. Once you get too far from shore the sea robins take over.

Fifth Drift – Another good one. The fluke are tucked in very close to the beach. We catch a few keepers each time. Runnin in to do it again.

Sixth Drift – Very good fishing with a few more keepers being caught. We are making very shorts drifts right now.

Seventh Drift – Another 6 pound was caught and a 1/2 dozen other keepers as well. VERY good fishing right now!!!

Eighth Drift – Very good fishing with a few more keepers caught. High hook has 3 fish.

Ninth Drift – We lost the bite on this one due to the tide change. Going to wrap it up and head on home.

Fishing was good again today. We found the fluke very close to the beach, and continued to make very short drifts from the shoreline out. A northwest wind helped push us off the beach. We caught the fluke well each time, but once we pushed off the beach about a half mile or so, it would turn into mostly sea robins. We would then run back in and do it again. Roger Ashworth and Ron Mazzarella were tied for high hook with 3 fish. Ron had two fish that weighed in at 6 and 6 1/2 pounds with the larger one taking the pool.

Monday, 9/13/10 Live Report

Location: Sandy Hook
Tide: High @ Noon
Water Temp: 69.1 degrees
Wind: NW 8 kts
Moon Phase – 32% Full

Special Notice – The Captain John has received the Extended Season Fluke Permit which will allow us to continue fishing for fluke after the September 6th closing date. Our schedule will remain the same through September.

Conditions – There is a small roll in the ocean from an east wind yesterday, but should not hamper our efforts. Hopefully, it doesn’t kill the fluke bite. . We will have an incoming tide until noon. Not going to have the greatest of conditions with a northwest wind, but we will work the problem.

First Drift – We started right where we left off on Saturday! Excellent fluking!!! High hook caught 2 keepers. . . We have the bow to the sea minimizing the effects of the roll, and we are drifting nicely with the tide. Running up to do it again.

Second Drift – Another good one with a few more keepers caught. We went a long way, catching the fluke the whole time, but it became more sea robins at the end. Running up to do it again.

Third Drift – Another great drift with some bigger fish caught. Bob Houjak lead the way with a 6 pound fluke.

We had another excellent day of fishing with non-stop action right from the start. Four people were tied for high hook with 3 keepers, and Bob Houjak won the pool with a 6 pound fluke.

Another great day of fluke fishing!! We caught them right from the get go, and left them biting!! Three people were tied for high hook with 3 keepers, and Tom Salerno won the pool with a 6 pound fluke.

Friday, 9/10/10 Live Report

Location: Sandy Hook
Tide: High 9:51am
Water Temp: 71.3 degrees
Wind: NW 15 kts
Moon Phase – 6% Full

Special Notice – The Captain John has received the Extended Season Fluke Permit which will allow us to continue fishing for fluke after the September 6th closing date. Our schedule will remain the same through September.

Conditions – Another day with a hard west wind. We are going to make our way into the ocean along Sandy Hook, and get in the lee of the wind. There will be outgoing water all day.

First Drift – WOW!!!! This one definitely deserves an OOOH FAAA!!! We just made a three hour drift, and totally dominated the fluke! This was the best drift that we have made in maybe a month. High hook was Tank Matraxia with 4 keepers up to 5 pounds, and four other people had 3 keepers. Running back up for a redux!

Second Drift – Another very good drift!! Tank Matraxia caught his fifth keeper of the day, and remains high hook. We are going to run up and make one more drift to finish out the day.

Third Drift – We left them biting!!! What a great day of fishing!!! . . . Tank Matraxia caught his 6th keeper of the day, giving him his limit.

Today’s fishing was great. We caught the fluke right from the first whistle and left them biting. This was easily the best day of fluking in over a month. Tank Matraxia was the man today, catching his limit and winning the pool with a 5 1/2 pound fluke. There were 4 other people with 3 keepers, and a good number with 2. . . . The fluke were hungry and ate everything that was thrown at them. It didn’t matter if it was spearing, Gulp!, Spro’s or any other kind of bait. They were very aggressive and destroyed everything.

Tank was the man today!! LIMIT!!!!

Jo Herr caught 3 keepers on the day.

Ken “The Legend” Havens holding a couple fish from his catch.

Another day, another big fluke!! Bill Reid is latest to score a jumbo fluke, catching his on a spearing/Gulp! combo. Fishing was otherwise slow for most of the day. We did find a decent body of fish late in the trip, and pulled some keepers out of it. A very hard west wind hampered our efforts throughout the day by limiting where we could fish.

Tuesday, 9/6/10 Live Report

Location: Sandy Hook Channel
Tide: High 7:30am
Water Temp: 74.2 degrees
Wind: WSW 11 kts
Moon Phase – 1% waning

Special Notice – The Captain John has received the Extended Season Fluke Permit which will allow us to continue fishing for fluke after the September 6th closing date. Our schedule will remain the same through September.

Conditions – The first day of the extended fluke season. We do not have the greatest of conditions to start with a S wind and an ebb tide. We are going to head out to Sandy Hook Channel and see what goes.

First Drift – We had a very good start with the fluke. Probably caught 3 dozen fish, however, none of them made the cut. Conditions are not bad right now. We are letting the wind push us across the channel.

Second Drift – The fluking remains good. A few people caught over ten fish on this drift.

Third Drift – We are picking away at the fluke, however, the ratio is terrible. There is a tide line just a little south of us. We are going to run to the other side of it and see how it goes.

Fourth Drift – Killieman Tom Figlo caught the first keeper fluke of the extended season. We continue to beat up the undersized fluke.

Fifth Drift – We added 3 more keepers, 2 of which were caught by Fred Orsato. Running up to make another.

Sixth Drift – A few shorts and another keeper. Going to change it up for the last drift of the day

Stan Mitnick holding his keeper that was caught on the fifth drift of the day.

Seventh Drift – BAM!!! Russ Yeager finishes the day off in style with a 8 pound fluke!!  Not bad for the first day of the extended season!!

The first day of the extended season started with a bang. We headed out to Sandy Hook Channel, and despite unfavorable conditions, we hammered away at the fluke. Tom Figlo caught the first keeper of the day on a killie/ball jig combo, and a few more followed. Once the conditions made it a little too sloppy to fish, we headed up to the knoll and continued to pick away at the fluke. Fred Orsato put 2 keepers in his bucket in ten minutes using Gulp! and spearing, but the real headlines of the day came on our last drift when Russ Yeager hooked into a beast!  After bringing it over the rail,and some hi five’s,  it weighed in at 8 lb 1 oz. Way to go Russ!! See you tomorrow for some more fluking fun!!

Monday, 9/6/10 Live Report

Location: Ambrose Channel
Tide: High 6:31am
Water Temp: 75.1 degrees
Wind: W 1 kts
Moon Phase – 5% waning

Special Notice – The Captain John has received the Extended Season Fluke Permit which will allow us to continue fishing for fluke after the September 6th closing date. Our schedule will remain the same through September.

August Flukemaster Update – Alan Abramson won the August Flukemaster Pool with a 7 lb 1 oz fluke.

Conditions – Happy Labor Day!! . . Perfect conditions for Ambrose. Outgoing water with a very light west breeze. The water temp has dropped around 6 degrees which might just spark a fluke comeback!

First Drift – Picked at the shorts. We are just getting the first of the ebb tide. Going to run up and set up for a long one.

Second Drift – Very good drift. Gary Thompson caught 2 keepers up to 5 pounds, and there were 7 other keepers caught. Some of the fluke are very nice sized.

Third Drift – Conditions are perfect and the fluke are biting!! Lots of shorts with a couple more keepers.

Fourth Drift – We had to make a quick one because of an outbound cargo ship, and we added a couple more keepers. This is turning into a very good day!

Fifth Drift – The current is getting very strong, and the fishing has slowed up. Going to make one off the channel and see if anything bites.

Sixth Drift – Unfortunately, the current has become too fast for us to fish, but we got what we could out of it. Going to change it up a little.

Seventh Drift – We made a move to a few holes that were to our south, but as we got ourselves set up, the wind came around out of the southeast, and is now holding us up against the tide. This morning we had excellent conditions and we put fish in the boat. Now the conditions are not very favorable with the wind against the tide, and we are struggling to get bites. Only caught a few shorts on this one. Going to spin the boat around and see if we drift a little better.

Eighth Drift – We had a shot of slammer blues and also caught a few small fluke. We are going to change it up completely to finish out the day.

Ninth Drift – Picked at  few shorts and caught one silver eel to end the day.

We had good fishing in the morning with the first of the outgoing water. The conditions were perfect, we caught the fluke, and threw some in the coolers. As the we got into the middle of the tide it became too fast for us to fish, so we headed south and gave it a look. The conditions then changed with the wind coming out of the southeast and holding us against the tide. From that moment on we were shot in the foot. Rich Lawrence was today’s pool winner with a 5 pound fluke, and Gary Thompson was high hook with 2 keepers. . . Tomorrow begins the first day of the Extended Fluke Season. Our schedule will remain the same, fishing everyday from 7:30am to 2:30pm.

Congratulations to Alan Abramson for winning the August Flukemaster Pool which was $350.00.

Wednesday, 9/1/10 Live Report

Location: Raritan Bay
Tide: High 1:13pm
Water Temp: 80.1 degrees
Wind: W 6 kts
Moon Phase – 52% waning

Special Notice – The Captain John has received the Scientific Collecting Permit which will allow us to continue fishing for fluke after the September 6th closing date. Our schedule will remain the same through September.

We will no longer be sailing in the evening from 5pm – 9pm.

August Flukemaster Update – Alan Abramsonhas held the belt for most of the month with a 7 lb 1 oz fluke.  The pot is currently up to $350.00, and this months pool end on September 6th.

Conditions – We are heading out on slack tide, but we will soon see the first of the flood water which we will have for the whole trip. Our first drift is going to be up on the northern tip of the bay. There are some holes and ledges that we are going to work.

First Drift – We started off just the way we finished yesterday. Not too good. We do not have any movement yet which as you know is critical for catching fluke.

Second Drift – Jeff Lukowich started us off with the first keeper of the day which was caught on spearing. There a few dozen shorts caught as well.

Third Drift – We picked at the fluke and put 1/2 dozen keepers on the boat.

Fourth Drift – Sea robins and shorts. We are making a very slight move to the east.

Fifth Drift – The same as the last one. Only a few shorts.

Sixth Drift – Made a move south to the Knoll and stuck a little bit of keeper gold. Don’t get me wrong, the fishing is not great, but everything we’ve caught we have kept.

Seventh Drift – Same as the previous drift. We don’t catch much, but everything we catch we keep! David Wiley ended the day off with a 5 lb 1 oz fluke which won the pool.

The fishing was not too good again today.  We did have a change of tide bite late in the day that bailed out a few people, but overall it was another tough trip. We spent most of our time up to the north near the islands catching a couple dozen fish with each drift, but only managed a few keepers out of it. Headed south of west bank for the change of tide, and ended up finishing the day in style. David Wiley won today’s pool with a 5 lb 1 oz fluke. Don’t listen to the weatherman regarding tomorrow. The weather will be fine. We will not start to see any effects until late Thursday night into Friday.

Tuesday, 8/31/10 Live Report

Location: Earle Naval Pier
Tide: High 12:20pm
Water Temp: 77.7 degrees
Wind: W 9 kts
Moon Phase – 62% waning

Special Notice – The Captain John has received the Scientific Collecting Permit which will allow us to continue fishing for fluke after the September 6th closing date. Our schedule will remain the same through September.

We will no longer be sailing in the evening from 5pm – 9pm.

August Flukemaster Update – Alan Abramson has held the belt for most of the month with a 7 lb 1 oz fluke.  The pot is currently up to $350.00, and this months pool end on September 6th.

Conditions – WOW! The last day of August. Where has the summer gone! . . . Well, it can’t get any worse than yesterday. We can only go up, at least I hope! The Terminal Channel off of Earle will be our starting point this morning, and of course we have wind against tide conditions with a west wind holding us up against a flood tide. Everyone is locked and loaded, and we are ready to wipe away that stink that was Monday’s fishing!!

First Drift – Only a few shorts.

Second Drift – The first 2 keepers of the day were caught on this one!! WOOOOO!!!! Thank god!!

Third Drift – A few shorts, but nothing else.

Fourth Drift – We headed to the Knoll for this one and caught a few shorts and 1 keeper.

Fifth Drift – Made a repeat of the last drift and caught 3 keepers and a few shorts. The fishing is not any good, but at least we hve picked a few on the last couple of drifts.

Sixth Drift – A few more shorts. Although the fishing is 1000x better than yesterday, it still is not good. We are going to change up the area and head north.

Seventh Drift – With the wind blowing WNW around 8 kts, we headed up to a ledge that is north of where we were fishing thinking the wind would push us nicely along the edge, but wouldn’t you know that as soon as we got ourselves set up the wind died out. We are now sitting like a rock again. Despite that we caught a dozen fish right off the bat. Did not see much after.

Eighth Drift – Made a small move a very slowly picked at the fish.

Ninth Drift – No good. We are having another tough day of fishing. Going to head into the Reach.

We had another poor day of fishing. The conditions were terrible, and the fishing was horrible. The fluke bite will turn back on. It is just a matter of when.

Special Trip – We will be running a Special Offshore Columbus Day Bluefish trip on October, 11th. This trip is from 6:30am – 4:00pm, and is limited to the first 40 people that sign up. Tickets are sold in advance.