Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: High 7:10am
Water Temp: 75.2 degrees
Wind: NNW 4kts
Moon Phase: 2% Waning

Conditions – We will have very good conditions to fish the Reach today with a NW wind and outgoing tide, but the bad news is that there are already two outbound ship that are coming through the channel. One just as we set up, and the other will be passing within half hour. It could shut the fluke down for some time. We will see. . .

First Drift
Time – 29 min
Distance – .68 miles
We waited for the Sand Master to clear and got set up in the channel. Hammerin Hank caught the first fluke of the day on a killie/Gulp combo and a couple of other keepers were caught as well. Slow start overall. . . I’m going to do something a little different today. I’m going to try and keep track of the time and distance of each drift. I might not be able to do it for each drift, but I am going to attempt it.

Second Drift
Time – 25 min
Distance – .46 miles
Not much caught on this one. It looks like the early ship traffic put the kabosh on this for a while. Going to head east a ways and see f we can get something going.

Third Drift
Time – 11 min.
Distance – .28 miles
This one was not good at all. We are going to head back to the west where we know the fish are. The conditions are good, and hopefully by now the bottom has settled.

Fourth Drift
Time – 1 hr 3 min
Distance – 1.68 miles
Conditions were a little fast on this one. We did super slow pick at the fluke, but it is not very good at the moment. Jerry “All I Do Is Win Pools” Henderson caught a 5 pounder at the start of the drift. Going to head further west for the next one.

Jerry Henderson won today’s pool with this 5 1/2 fluke.

Fifth Drift
Time – 1 hr 6 min
Distance – 1.15 miles
This one was better with some shining moment all around. Top moment, 3 keepers in one net up in the pulpit! That’s how you do it!! . . . We got in the lee of the wind and the conditions improved. You couldn’t lighten up on the sinkers, but it was much more managable. Running up for a redux!

Sixth Drift
Time – 27 min
Distance – .47 miles
We let this one go a little differently. We came up the channel edge and went into the flats. Caught some on the edge, but not much up out of the deep. There is another outbound ship coming through channel. We are going to jump back in and make a quick one.

Seventh Drift
Time – 16 min
Distance – .15 miles
Pulled up short off the channel, and let the ship clear. We did not see much. Going to jump back in. . . High hook so far has 5 keepers.

Eighth Drift
Time – 48 min
Distance – .57 miles
We caught some fish to end the day.

Summary
The ship traffic really got us today. We had the two outbound ships right off the bat, and when it looked like we were going to get things going by the fifth drift, there was another ship coming through. The wind didn’t help either. It increased to around 15 knots at one point making for a fast drift. With the ship traffic and wind being an issue the fishing was definitely a struggle at times, but also very good at others with some anglers putting together a nice catch of fish. Joe Mattis owned the stern of the boat by putting 5 keepers in his cooler while John Lipari ruled the bow by also throwing 5 in the box. As the wind increased through the morning it made for some difficult drifting conditions with 10 ounces becoming the norm, but those who battled through the tangles and heavy sinkers caught the fluke. Jerry “All I Do Is Win Pools” Henderson was one of those anglers. Jerry caught a 5 lb 7 oz fluke which ended up being the pool fish making his batting average 1000. 3 trips on the Captain John, 3 pools won. Quite impressive!

The Bow Guys get it done again!!

What they were eating
Once again today every fluke was loaded with grass shrimp. We read giant schools of them on the bottom, and the fluke are just engorging themselves with them. This is what is holding the fluke in the area that we have had such success over the past week. . . While I was filleting I did notice that a few fluke had hermit crabs in their stomachs which is something new in this area.

Grass shrimp from one stomach.

All these hermit crabs came from one fluke.

Check back tomorrow for more live updates.

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: Low 12:29pm
Water Temp: 73.9
Wind: None
Moon Phase: 4% Waning

Conditions – We will begin the day with the first of the outgoing water. There is no wind at all, and the current has yet to really start running. It may take a little while before we have any decent conditions.

First Drift – We only moved about 200 feet in an hour, and luckily we did pick at a few. These fish from yesterday are still here, but we need some kind of float in order to catch them.

Second Drift – A light breeze came up, but unfortunatly it is out of the wrong direction. It is out of the ESE only around 4 kts, but it is enough to hold us up against the tide.

Third Drift – We probably moved less than 10 yards on this one. Have to move for an incoming tug and barge. Going to try the next one off the channel a ways to see if the fluke have moved at all.

Fourth Drift – The tug has past and we are jumping back in the channel. Didn’t catch anything in the flats. Anthony “Barker” Rullo is high hook with 2 keepers.

Fifth Drift – Oy vey! No conditions for drifting at all. We simply sit like a rock. No float = no fluke.

Sixth Drift – The current has eased off and the wind has come up enough to move us in slowly, and we are starting to see more action. High hook has 4 keepers. Plain hook with spearing is working the best right now. . . We are going to head back to where we were this morning. We know there are fish there. Hopefully we get something going now that we are moving a little.

Seventh Drift – We started to get a few shots of fish, and the highlight was Ernie Bertha landing a 6 pounder. . . We have to move out of the channel for two inbound tugs and barges.

Eighth Drift – The tug and barge shut this little bit of fishing down.

Today was a struggle to say the least. We had horrible conditions for most of the day. When we finally had some movement with the wind the two tugs and barges came through the channel and ruined any chance of putting together any kind of catch. Ernie Bertha won the pool with a 6 pound fluke, and high hook caught 4 keepers.

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: Low 10:41am
Water Temp: 72.5
Wind: E 4kt
Moon Phase: 14% Waning

Conditions – Very light easterly breeze up against an outgoing tide for most of the morning. We do have a tide change at 10:40, but it is going to be a long time before we have any conditions for drifting.

I’m trying to get everything updated from the weekend. I should have everything up by noon. . . There is a new June Flukemaster leader. Bill Burnett caught a 9lb 5oz fluke on Friday to take the lead.

First Drift – As I wrote the conditions are terrible. We move out very very slowly. The good part is that the keeper ratio seems to be much improved. We are not catching a lot of fish, but a very good percentage are being thrown in the buckets. We have to move out of the channel for an inbound tug. Going to jump back in when it passes.

Second Drift – A nice SE breeze is helping us move along the channel right now, and we are picking away at the fluke. It is not fireball fishing, but most of what we are catching is staying. Jimmy Chambers is high hook with 4 fish. . . Small bucktails that are tied high are working well.

Third Drift – Excellent fishing!! This has turned into a very good day. High hook has 6 keepers and the biggest fluke so far weighs in at 6 pounds.

I had some technical difficulties with the computer today, and was unable to finish the drift by drift updates. We did have an excellent day of fishing. There was a ton of bait on the bottom and the fluke were ready to eat. High hook was Joe Illuzzi was high hook with 7 keepers, and Jimmy Chambers won the pool with a 6lb 4oz fluke.

Fishing was not very good over the weekend. We did catch a couple of big fish, but overall it was not good. On Saturday the last drift of the day was the game changer. We caught 16 keepers on that drift, and it basically saved the day. Mike English, who last season was given a “Small Fluke Exorscim” has come up big this year. Mike has been putting keepers in his cooler, and won the pool on Saturday with a  7 1/2 pounder.

The fishing on Sunday was lackluster, and that is being kind. It was just a poor day of fishing. Ken McLean won the pool with a 5 pounder caught with a Viper Spoon.

Here are some more photos from the weekend.

Wish you were here Tom!!

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: Low 9:01am
Water Temp: 69.5
Wind: E 18kt
Moon Phase: 38% Waning

What a miserable day! Feels like April on the water. There is a stiff east wind that is almost 20 knots. We made our first couple of drifts on the Reach, but with the wind and tide together, the conditions were just too fast. We are now settled in Sandy Hook Bay and are picking away at the fish. . . The fluke may have the advantage today with the weather on their side.

Third Drift – POW and a POW!!! . . . Bill Burnett landed a fluke that weighed 10 pounds 30 seconds into the drift on a white Spro with a Chartreuse Gulp minnow. (I will have an official weight for you when we get to the dock. We are rolling around too much to get it exact to the ounce, but Bill will now be the leader in the June Flukemater Pool. Minutes later Bruce Mesmer caught a 6 pound fluke on the same combo.

Bill Burnett holding his fluke that is in the 10 pound range.

Bruce Mesmer with his 6 pounder.

Fourth Drift – Fishing is not bad considering the weather right now. The ratio is not very good, but there are a few keepers mixed in.

Fifth Drift – It was looking like we were going to get things rolling, but it just isn’t happening. We slowly pick at some fish, but right now the fluke are winning.

Sixth Drift – This weather is just foul! Rain, wind, Deadly seas. . Ugh!! . . . The fishing has remained the same for the last few drift. We catch some, but not enough. Steve Kerry & Stevie Scarmazzo are tied for high hook with 3 keepers.

Today was a tough day to call. The weather was terrible, but it could have been worse, and that goes the same for the fishing. The fishing was not great, but with the east wind, it could have been a whole lot worse. We had three people tie for high hook with 4 keepers, and there were a few beasts caught. Well, one beast and two baby beasts. Bill Burnett was the pool winner with a 9 lb 5 oz fluke, and there were two 6 pounders caugth as well. On the old Man vs. Fluke scale I would have to say that the fluke won, but it was definately a split decision.

The fluke won this one. . . A harder than predicted east wind put the kabosh on any chance of success that we may have had. We picked some late in the day, but it was not good by any means. Alan Abramson won the pool with a 3 1/2 pound fluke.

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: High 1:03pm
Water Temp: 72.3
Wind: SE 4kt
Moon Phase: 59% Waning

A day after taking one one the chin, we set out with new visions of fluke gold! Conditions today will be perfect to start. We have the beginning of the flood water and a light SE breeze to help move us along the channnel.

Frank Grossman and John Lipari had 6 keepers each on the day, and Franks grandson Kyle added 2 to the cooler.

First Drift – POW POW!!! . . . We decimated the fluke poputlation this morning!!! Today’s fishing is just like Monday’s. We just got off our first drift at noon. High hook has 6 keepers, and there are five others with 5.

Mid Drift Report – The Rev has caught his limit of 8 keepers!!! WOOOOO!!!!

Second Drift – Excellent fishing again. We have one person with their limit, and 3 others with 7 keepers.

We put an old school whoopin on the fluke today. Rev. Daniels and Joe Diorio both had their limit of 8 keepers, and there were three others with 7 keepers. Today’s fishing was exactly the same as Monday’s where we caught them from the first whistle to the last. Yesterday we didn’t have the success that we has today because of the drifting conditions. We simply did not move and we did not catch the fluke. Today on the other hand we had a nice SE breeze to help move us along with an incoming tide. It did get fast as the morning progressed, but not too fast to hurt the fishing.

Everything worked today. Bait, Gulp, Spros. The fluke have spread out into the western part of the bay, and as the past 3 days have proved, if the conditions are favorible, we are going to get them. John Lipari, who had 6 keepers, and Tom Abramski, who caught 7, tied for the pool with a pair or 6 pound fluke.

Check back tomorrow for more live updates.

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: High 1:03pm
Water Temp: 72.1
Wind: W 1kt
Moon Phase: 68% Waning

We had some day yesterday, but like I say all the time, you can’t catch yesterday’s fish. The conditions to start the day are terrible. We have no float at all. No current or wind. We will get set up where we had the most success and let it ride.

First Drift – We did catch an immediate keeper, but only a few shorts followed. Drifting conditions are not good. We sit like a rock.

Second Drift – No movement = no fluke. We do catch some, but not enough.

Third Drift – Not much going on. We simply do not drift. There is an ESE wind coming up to the east of us about a mile or so. We are going to make a move to meet it, and hopefully with the incoming water we can start to put a catch together.

Fourth Drift – We had a little movement, and catch some fluke with the very occational keeper. So far today, the fluke are winning. . . Since it’s a slow day, and there isn’t much for me to write, I am going to post a link to a story of a guy who caught a 350 lb halibut on Father’s Day. Click Here

Fifth Drift – Ugh! . . We pick at some shorts, but it is not good at all. In the words of Charlie Sheen, the fluke are “Winning”. . . . Going to head back to the west where we were this morning.

Well, we were due for a clunker, and we got one today. The conditions were absolutely terrible all day. We didn’t have any float at all whether it was from the tide or the wind, and all you flukers know you need movement to catch fish. So, on the Man vs. Fluke scale, the fluke put a hurting on us. They were due to win one. . . Artie Razillard won the pool with a 4 pound fish.

Check back tomorrow for more live updates.

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: High Noon
Water Temp: 69.8
Wind: ESE 6kt
Moon Phase: 76% Waning

We are back live after a very busy weekend. I am behind a few days with the pictures and reports, but I will be updating the site as the day goes on. It will take some time because the fishing has been EXCELLENT so far today. We just got off our first drift at 11:00am, and destroyed the fluke population for the first 3 hours of the trip. Conditions are PERECT and we are slaying them.   

First Drift – WOW!! . . . Four people with 5 keepers and a few more with 4 and 3. Spearing with chartreuse Gulp is the trick so far. And once again these fish are loaded with grass shrimp.

Second Drift – If this was Man vs. Fluke, Man would be dominating!! . . . We now have one person with 7 keepers, and two people with 6 keepers. We have to move for an inbound tug and barge. Hopefully this doesn’t end the fluking in the channel for the day.

Tackle Buster!!! This beast of a fluke broke this spinning rod on the hook set.

Third Drift – The tug and barge did us in. We are going to make a move to the east.

Mid Drift Update – Al Skowronski just boxed #8!! Limit!!!!!

Fourth Drift – We finished the day with a pick of fish.

Fluking is all about conditions, and today the conditions were PERFECT!! We had incoming water with a light ESE breeze that helped push us along the channel. Right from the first whistle we had one on, and it lasted until the tug and bardge came through the channel. Spearing, killies, and white Gulp worked the best today. Al Skowronski, who was the pool winner with a 4 1/2 pound fluke, caught his limit of 8 fish, and there were two others with 7 keepers.

Now to the “Catch of the Day”.

This looked to be some kind of a cap with a gasket attached. Fought like crazy coming up!

This beautiful tree was caught around mid day. It didn’t fight too much on the way up, but it did hit hard.

Check back tomorrow for more live updates.

Fishing on Friday was subpar. That is all I can say about Friday. Saturday was a fairly good day with some anglers making out better than others. High hook had 5 keepers, and the pool fish weighed in at 5 1/2 pounds. Father’s Day was much like Saturday where some people made out much better. High hook had 5 keepers, and the pool fish weighed in at 5lb 5oz.

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: High 8:54am
Water Temp: 68.3
Wind: NW 5kt
Moon Phase: 99% Waning

Going to be an hour or so before we get any conditions, but once we get the outgoing water it will be on! Perfect conditions with the NW wind.

First Drift – Jimmy Bufis who was bumped out of the lead in the monthly pool reclaims the top spot with a 7 lb 5 oz fluke.

Second Drift – We had a little excitment up in the bow when Ray Angotti hook into what would end up being the trans Atlantic Cable. For everyone at home that lost power, blame Ray!

Third Drift – The conditions are perfect and we are picking away at the fluke. I know that I have been saying this for days now, but these fish are really nice sized. The are a lot of fish in the 4 pound plus range.

Fourth Drift – Conditions are perfect, but the fishing as slowed up quite a bit. We do catch the occational fish, but it is nothing like it was earlier in the day. High hook has 4 keepers.

Todays fishing was a little slower than it has been, however, the keepers did add up for quite a few people. We are still seeing a lot of fish in the 4lb + range. Paul Franek was high hook with five keepers,and Jimmy Bufis won the pool with a 7lb 5oz.

The fish that we are catching  are still loaded with grass shrimp, and the occational sun dial. Spros and Gulp worked well today.

Decent fishing with jigs and spearing tonight. We caught the fluke well early on, but it turned off at the top of the tide. High hook had 4 keepers, and the pool winning fish, which was the last fish of the night, weighed in at 5 pounds.

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: High 8:03am
Water Temp: 66.7
Wind: NW 13kt
Moon Phase: 100% Full

Barring any wind shift, we will have perfect conditions for fluking today. The only negative is the moon is full, but we will work the problem!

First Drift – First fish of the day weighed in at 6lb 2oz and was caught by Joe Maier. We caught a few more keepers and some shorts. Slow going so far.

Second Drift – The fishing is slow right now, but the keeper ratio is very good. There are a few people who have two keepers already.

Third Drift – WOW!!! What a drift! Superior fluking on this one!! John Hamor, or J-Ham as he is know on the streets, caught what could be the new leader for the June pool. Going to weigh it up soon!

Fourth Drift – A ship came through and it was like someone turned out the lights. Going to run up and make another. High hook has 5 keepers.

Mid Drift Update – John Hamor is the new leader in the June Flukemaster Pool. John’s fish weighed in at 6 lb 11 oz.

Fifth Drift – It took a while for the fishing to bounce back after the ship came through, but man did it ever! Terrific fishing to end the day.

We had another very good day of fluking today! These fish that we are catching are thick and there are many over 4 pounds. The majority of the fluke caught we loaded with grass shrimp. While I was filleting I found many fish with juvinile sun dials in their stomachs. One fish had a small ling and a sun dial inside of it.

Some of the sun dials and ling I found in the flukes stomachs while filleting.

Joe Mattis was high hook with 7 keepers up to 4 1/2 pounds. John Hamor caught 5 keepers and won the pool with a 6 lb 11 oz fluke. We had a great day of fluking. I hope the good times continue!!

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: Low 1:19 pm
Water Temp: 66.1
Wind: E 10kt
Moon Phase: 98% Full

We will be starting on the Reach again today with terrible conditions with the wind again the tide.

First Drift – We caught some fish with a few keepers, but it is going to be a long day with these conditions

Second Drift – A couple of more keepers and some shorts. We are not moving at all.

Third Drift – We are giving up! Going to head inshore to a spot where we will have a little float.

Fourth Drift – We are moving with the wind, and the fluking has improved, however, the ratio is not in our favor. Oh yeah, and the east wind is now blowing 15 to 20 kts.

Fifth Drift – Made this one in Sandy Hook Bay and slugged away at the fish. The keeper ratio is still terrible, but the fishing is good.

Sixth Drift – Picked a few keepers on this one, but just not enough to keep us here. We are going to try one last thing near our dock before we head in.

We caught some fish to end the day. Overall the fishing was below average for this year. We battled very difficult conditions with a stiff east wind  going up against the tide all day. Jerry Henderson was the man again today. Jerry won the pool for the second consecutive day and was also high hook with 4 keepers.

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: Low 12:24 pm
Water Temp: 68.2
Wind: WNW 8kt
Moon Phase: 94% Full

Late start today. I was updating from the weekend, and the fishing has been pretty good. . . The big-fish-a-thon continues here again today. We have four fish over 5 pounds already.

First thru Third Drifts – Good fishing with many fish over 4 lbs.

Fourth Drift – We have no float at all right now, but we continue to catch some fluke up to 6 pounds.

Fifth Drift – This one was much like the last drift. We do not move at all, but we still catch the occational big fluke.

We had another good day of fishing with some very nice sized fluke coming over the rail.

Tough fishing on Sunday. The best drift of the day was the last one with a dozen keepers coming aboard. Jimmy Hughes was high hook with 4 fish, and Artie Razillard won the pool with 5 pound fluke.

Jimmy Hughes was high hook with 4 keepers on the day. Notice a very jealous Duke in the background giving the “Your #1 sign” which was blurred out. For the record, The Duke caught a keeper.

What a day! We had bad weather, a 7 lber, heavy rain, fog, and a rescue at sea. Ahhh, the life on a fluke boat!!

The first fish was caught 30 seconds into the day by Don Kellermanand weighed in at 7lb 1oz. . . Conditions were not good with a very hard east wind, but some anglers manage to battle through the bad weather to amass a nice catch of fluke. Carmine Mangini was high hook with 4 keepers.

One man in the water on the left side of picture.

Man in water.

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: Low 9:35am
Water Temp: 71.4
Wind: WNW 4kt
Moon Phase: 66% Full

Welcome to another edition of Fluke Hunters! Today we are sailing with 23 of the finest Fluke Men around. Everyone is baited up and ready to rock. We are going to get set up on the Reach, and see if we can get it done!

First Drift – It’s a good start to a day when the first 2 fish caught are keepers. We have excellent conditions right now, but a tide change is going to happen within the next hour. We are going to run up and see if we can duplicate the first one.

Second Drift – Keeper City baby! Two people were high hook on this drift with 4 keepers each. We also caught a few fish close to 5 pounds. Running up to do it again!

Third Drift – We lost the current and the incoming water is really taking it’s time to get going today. We are going to be patient and wait it out because there are fluke here.

Fourth Drift – We got the first of the incoming water and the fluke bite turned back on. High hook is Bill Burnett with 6 keepers. Have to move for a tug and barge, but once it clears, we are back in it!!

Fifth Drift – Another great drift with some really nice sized fluke coming over the rail. This is hands down the best fluking day of the year. Numerous fish in the 5 pound range. Spros and Gulp are hammering them today!

Sixth Drift – Continued dominance over the fluke population!!

Wow!! We definitely got it done today! This was some fishing. We caught them from the first whistle to the last, and the keeper ratio was terrific! It seemed like every fish that came over the rail was 3 pounds and up. High hook was Striper King Jeff with 7 fish, and there were 4 people tied with 6 keepers each. Jimmy Chambers won the pool with a 5 lb 6 oz fluke, and the were two 5 lb 4 oz fish. Today’s fishing rivaled a day from last season which was a beat ‘em up day also.

Jimmy Chambers with his pool winning 5lb 4oz fluke.

Location: Raritan Reach Channel
Tide: Low 8:33am
Water Temp: 71.6
Wind: W 1kt
Moon Phase: 55% Full

We look to continue the dominance that was yesterday’s fishing, but like I told the customers that are here today, you can’t catch yesterday fish. They are seafood! . . . It’s going to take a little while before we will have any kind of conditions today. We are on a tide change and there is no wind to push us around. We are going to get set up on the Reach, and see what goes! . . . On a side note, there has been a major influx of bait moving into the bay. I noticed big schools of spearing and shrimp in our harbor last night and this morning the bay is alive with bunker and anchovies. This is some aquarium that we fish in!

First Drift – We had some float when we first set up, but we are now sitting like a rock. Caught a few fish and a keeper.

Second Drift – Wouldn’t you know that once we got the incoming water the wind increased out of the west which is keeping us from getting any kind of movement. Oh the joys of fluking! . . Despite that we did catch a few keepers on this one. We have to move for an outbound ship. Going to jump back into the channel once it clears.

Third Drift – Going to change it up. We have no movement at all.

Fourth Drift – We made our way to the point of the hook, and had no problems drifting. The problem is with the keeping. I think the solar flare that they were talking about on the news last night not only effected electronics, but also had an effect on the keeper fluke.

Fifth Drift – Caught a nice 5 pounder on this one. Going to run up for another.

Sixth Drift – This drift was good with fluke coming over the rail. The problem was they went back over the rail. . . Going to change up the area slightly and see if we can find some bigger fish.

The last drift was best of the day. We caught a good number of fluke including a 4 1/2 pounder. Jack Bauer saved the world by winning the pool with a 5 1/2 pound fluke.

We had a super duper, beat ‘em up Wednesday! . . . The conditions were perfect and the fluke were waiting to be caught! We had two, yes that’s right, 2 limits today of 8 keepers. I can not divulge the names of the two because they were playing hooky from work. . . Carl Bertram was next in line with 5 keepers, and there were seven other people with 4 keepers. Jimmy Bufis caught the pool fish and took the lead in the June Flukemaster with a 6lb 1oz fluke. Artie Razillard and Jo Herr were a close second with fish just a couple ounces shy of 6 pounds. Spros with Gulp shrimp worked great today for the jiggers, and old school spearing on a plain hook worked for the guys dragging the bait.

Jimmy Bufis won the pool and took the lead in the June Flukemaster with this 6lb 1oz fluke.

Carl Bertram with his 5 keepers on the day.

Artie Razillard with his 4 keeps.

Larry Gove caught 4 keepers today.

Jo Herr caught these two fluke that were just under 6 pounds.

Artie Razillard with his 5lb 14oz fluke.

Chris Kwatkoski won the pool with this 6 pound fluke.

Ken Mclean took an early lead in the June Flukemaster Pool with this 5 pound fluke. The current pot for June is $250.00.

Fishing on Saturday night was not the greatest, but we did land a couple of beasts weighing 6 pounds.

A good day of fluking!! Our first and last drifts of the day were the best with fluke up to 6 pounds. Carmine Mangini was high hook with 4 keepers, and Tom Annitto won the pool with a 6 pound fluke. Ken Mclean took the early lead in the June Flukemaster Pool with a 5 pound fluke.

Our first evening fluke trip went well with high hook catching 3 keepers. We are sailing every Wed, Thurs, Fri and Saturday nights from 5pm to 9pm. The fare is $40 for adults and $25 for children.

We will be sailing Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Evenings for fluke from 5pm to 9pm. Adult fare is $40, and children 13 and under is $25.

Tickets are now on sale for the 3rd and 4th of July’s fireworks trip. On the 3rd we sail to Red Bank and those tickets are $60 each. On the 4th we sail to New York Harbor for the Macy’s Fireworks. Those tickets are $70 each. Both trips are limited, so if you are interested, act now!

Does the wind ever stop around here these days? . . Despite another day with a hard northwest wind, and being very limited in where we could fish, we did manage to put some fluke in the boat. Jeff Luckowich, who was fishing in Paul Franek’s spot, caught the first keeper of the day 30 seconds into the first drift. High hook was Jay Diorio with 3 keepers, and Michael Jackson won the pool with a 4 pound fluke.

Location: Sandy Hook
Tide: High 9:01am
Water Temp: 69.3
Wind: W 10kt
Moon Phase: New moon 0%

We will be setting up in Sandy Hook Bay on slack water. There is a stiff westerly breeze that is supposed to increase as the day goes goes on. We will be dropping the baits in the water momentarily and see what bites. . . Also, Congrats to Al Skowronski on winning the May Flukemaster Pool.

First Drift – Made this one on the flats and had a pretty good pick of fish. Jimmy Bufis lead the way with 2 keepers.

Second Drift – Russ Yeager was the star of this drift putting 2 in the box. . .The wind has really come on here and is up against an outgoing tide making for a rockin good time.

Third Drift – Jimmy Bufis put his 3rd keeper in the box. . The conditions have worsen with the wind up against the tide, so we are going to change it up and head into the ocean.

Fourth Drift – This was a good one. Quite a few keepers up to 5 pounds. Running up to make another.

Fifth Drift – Drifted a little different on this one and didn’t catch the fluke as well as the last.

Sixth Drift – We are still catching the fluke, but just not as consistent as earlier. Going to head back into the bay and give that a try to finish out the day.

Thomas Abramski was todays pool winner with this 5 lb fluke.

As we headed into the bay the wind really came on. It was easily blowing 25 to 30 knots, and after a half hour of taking spray over the pilot house we decided to call it quits. It was basically unfishable. . . Despite very unfavorable conditions, we did catchs some fish. It wasn’t great fishing, but it was MUCH inproved over yesterday. We found fish in the bay and caught a few keepers each drift. These fish were loaded with shrimp. Both grass shrimp and manta shrimp. Once the water began to run out of the river it became very rocky up against the west wind. This is the reason we headed into the ocean where we would have better conditions with the current and wind together. We caught some fluke, however the ratio was not as good as it was in the bay. Jimmy Bufis was high hook with 3 keepers and Thomas Abramski won the pool with a 5 pound fluke.

The fluke in the bay were loaded with both grass and manta shrimp.

Check back for live updates throughout the fluke season

Fluking was not great today. We picked some fish everywhere we stopped, but just not enough in any one location to hold us there. The good thing is tomorrow is another day.