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2006 Fishing Reports

May 2006

12th
Another great day on the K-Kat for the annual QDP Inc fishing trip! This years group included Bill Breedig, Jim Scipione, Stew McElhone, Mike Torres, Dean Logan and me. Capt Ken made the final call to go for it at 4am, despite the report for bad weather, and it turned out to be one of the nicest days of the year. After a short stop to get fresh bunker Captain Ken and mate Chris put us right into the fish. We worked through the bluefish for a 6 man limit of stripers to 36". From the lack of boats out there I think Ken and Chris were among the few not to lose a days pay due to the weather forecast. "Thumbs up" to Dean Logan for catching his limit of bass & several large blues with a cast on his left hand.

2004 Fishing Reports

November - Bass fishing has been very good this past week, although locations and techniques very from day to day.

11/12 - Excellent bass fishing today for the Justin Heald party from J.H. Ahle construction materials. We jigged a slot limit, 2 bonus fish over 28", and all the shorts we wanted under birds in Sandy Hook bay. After that fell apart, eeling in Ambrose channel provided a limit of bass over 34", plus the rest of our bonus tag fish.

11/11 - Slaughterhouse clamming today for the Pete Myers party from Wayne. Most fish were slots which were released on the New York side. Two fish over 34" were kept for the table.

11/10 - A limit of slot fish, bonus tag fish, and 3 over 34" on clams today for the Al Cardona party from Middletown, NY. The bass bit well for the first two hours of the flood tide, then quit. A try at jigging before we set up to bait fish yielded only bluefish.

11/9 - A bonus tag limit of bass over 28" went in the box this morning on clams for Chuck Deeney and his crew of Irvington firefighters. Slots were released in NY waters. A try at some pre-season blackfishing was excellent, we kept 6 big ones for the table and grudgingly released the rest. We need to give up the one-fish summer limit, and open in October when New York does. This blackfish season is a completely stupid fisheries management ruling. It makes about as much sense as our new bass regs (i.e. kill the big females loaded with roe in the spring). How about this, when everyone comes to their senses? Two fish per man between 24" and 32".

AUGUST

8/9 - Fishing has been very good this past week, with the bluefishing an all-out slaughter when conditions are good, and fluking holding up steadily. The better fluke action seems to have shifted from Sandy Hook channel to the bottom off of Sea Bright the past couple of days. The Mark Hoover party had excellent bluefishing at 17 fathoms yesterday afternoon, (8/8) despite a small mako in our slick that took bites out of hooked fish. The Dwayne Dech party from Allentown, PA had a decent pick of bluefish in the morning, (8/8 am) and a red hot fluke bite off of Monmouth Beach. Kassim Gonzalez and crew from Hackensack had a slow start fluking in Sandy Hook channel Saturday morning, (8/7) but found a good bite of big fish in 60 feet of water off of Sea Bright, topping the catch with two fish over 6 pounds. Mike Bowen and crew from Palisades Park toughed a honking north wind on Friday (8/6) to put a decent fluke catch together in Sandy Hook bay. Ted Metzger and crew from Stroudsberg, PA had slaughterhouse bluefishing Wednesday morning, (8/4) followed pick a pick of fluke in Sandy Hook channel. Andy Marut and crew from Cranford had a slow start fluking on Tuesday morning, (8/3) but ended up putiing a decent catch together in Sandy Hook channel as conditions improved.
JULY

7/23 - The Sandy Hook striped bass fishery is still holding up very well, despite the late calender date. Participation on the fishing grounds is way down, but the fish are still there for those who put the time in. This morning's trip for the Tom Cunningham family from Basking ridge saw a limit of fish up to 15 pounds, plus several slots released, before the bite died down. Fluking afterward was surprisingly good, with more keepers than shorts coming into the boat. Yesterday afternoon's (7/22) trip for the Peter Antonio party from Wayne saw a limit catch of bass despite the 78 degree outgoing water and high mid-afternoon sun. Wednesday's afternoon trip (7/21) for the Rick Scott party from Little Silver saw a slot limit and then some plus shorts, but no fish over 28 inches. We'll continue to striper fish as long as they bite.
JUNE

6/22 - This past week, we have changed tactics a bit and have been fishing fresh bunker with the massive bunker schools that are in the Sandy Hook area. The results have been fantastic, with fish up to 40 pounds, and excellent action as far as numbers when conditions are right. This afternoon's trip for the Al Cardona party of four from Middletown, NY, was the highlight of the week, as we drifted for 3 hours, catching nonstop, for a total of 37 bass to a high of 25 pounds. At least twice as many were broken off, lost or missed. When the bass shut down, we added 6 keeper fluke and bluefish. We plan to stay with this type of fishing as long as it lasts. Other successful parties this week have been Andrew Schmidt and crew from Jefferson Twp., Stan Towarnicki and family from Philly, Jim Mulhern and crew from Spotswood, John Litowinsky from Wall, and Scott Berends and crew from East Rutherford.
MAY

5/19 - Striper fishing remains excellent, although not as easy as running into Raritan Bay, stopping on readings and pounding on them. The fish are on the move with this moon, and we are catching them in all different spots, both on bait and on the troll. Yesterday's clamming and trolling were both excellent for the Charlie Irving party from Suffern. Today, the bait was slow for the Ron Wright party from Oakland, NJ, but the trolling was super good, with non-stop action on fish up to 30 pounds.

5/11 - Striped bass fishing has been outstanding through this evening on both morning and afternoon trips. Most trips get a limit plus bonus tag fish and then some, with occasional dips in the action when conditions are not good. There are a lot of big fish around, most trips end up with a few fish pushing 30 pounds on both bunker spoons and bait. This afternoon's trip for the George Katilus group from Bay Head was excellent, we snagged bunker and caught bass to 28 pounds on chunks and clams. The back of the bay was like a fishbowl in glass calm conditions; bunker were being smashed on the surface by bass and slammer bluefish. Big bass would follow hooked fish right to the boat, boils everywhere, the bay is loaded with life.

5/1 - After an April during which our bass trips could be anywhere from slow to good, it finally looked like the beginning of a real Raritan bay spring bass run this afternoon for the Jim Kubis party from Levittown, PA. Schools of bunker were everywhere as we set up on the anchor to clam. It took a half hour, then all hell broke loose as fish were on constantly for an hour and a half. We boxed a boat limit plus bonus tags up to 21 pounds, plus multiple releases of slots and shorts. The surprise highlight was a ten pound weakfish taken on a clam. The bite shut down as the south wind came up.

2003 Fishing Reports

December
We ended our season with a bang today as the Doug Fallon party from New Brunswick limited out on Blackfish up to 7 pounds in 60 feet of water off of Sea Bright. This was a bit of a surprise, since the last two fishable days were terrible.
This was the last trip we will run out of Highlands this season, however we will continue to sail out of Brielle on Capt. Jim Rivelli's Calypso, probing the wrecks off of Barnegat.

September
9/8 - A pick of bass plus bluefish today for the Charlie Vill crew from Colonia. We got bass first on clams, then bass and bluefish on the troll.

9/7 pm - Good fishing on the troll for the Ron Hallick party from Mountainside this afternoon. We caught a limit of slot bass and two over 28" fish, plus all the bluefish we wanted.

9/7 am - A decent pick of bass plus plenty of bluefish this morning for the Raymond Yee party from Lancaster, PA. Six bass went into the box, and the blues tore up the rigs constantly.

9/6 pm - Fast action on the troll this afternoon for the Bob Ringo party from Jersey City. All the blues you wanted, plus a limit of slot bass, and two over 28" bass.

9/6 am - Seven keeper bass plus bluefish on the troll for the Mike Dargento crew from Fairlawn this morning. A shot at fluking in the bay afterwards was dismal, with one keeper being boated.

9/5 - Red hot trolling this morning for the Mike Xifo crew from Comverge, Inc. We boated a limit of striped bass between the hordes of ravenous bluefish. Our two trolling rods were bent over constantly, with double headers being the norm.

9/4 - A shot at ocean fluking this morning for the Charlie Irving party from Flaghouse, Inc. was very tough, due to the easterly blow from the previous two days. We ran back into the bay for the flood tide, and put together a decent catch of keepers in Sandy Hook channel.

August

8/20 am - A limit of striped bass this morning for Joe Grippo and family from Hackensack. Two large Spanish mackerel were taken on the troll along with some bluefish. A switch over to fluke produced a few keepers before we wrapped it up.

8/20 pm - A decent pick of fluke for the Joe Berardinelli party from Little Falls. Once the south wind came up hard, the bite shut down.

8/21 - A pick of keeper fluke and seabass today for the Glen Hataway party from Allentown, PA. The last hour of the trip turned into a slaughterhouse, with 2-3 fish on at a time. We ended up with 24 keepers and countless shorts.

8/22 pm - All the slammer bluefish you wanted on the troll for the Bill Seavy party from Cranford. A switch over to fluke was a slow pick in the bay.

8/23 - The cold front with the northwest breeze really turned on the fluke down the beach today for the Mike Hetrick party from PA today. We had constant action all day, with 22 keepers going in the box.

8/24 am - Excellent fluke action again today for Gerry Friedman and his 3 boys from Tenafly, NJ. Although the keeper ratio was way down from the day before, the rods bent constantly and the little guys had a blast.

8/24 pm - Fast fluke action, although few keepers for the Eric Jiang party from Metuchen this afternoon.

8/25 - A limit of striped bass for the Andy Urban party from Staten Island this morning, with all nice-sized fish. A switch over to fluke down the beach produced a pick of keepers and shorts, with continued perfect weather.

July

7/25 - Well, we seemed to have squeezed the last of the bass out of the bay fishery, and it was a great run while it lasted. Recent trips have ranged from 3-4 bass up to a limit for the Bill Mordarski party, Tony Lynch and friends, Joe Mullaly and kids, Michael Gerin and family, Vin Spadafino and crew from Highlands, and Charlie Dente and family.

7/24 - aftenoon trip for the Joe Berardinelli crew from Glen Ridge saw a 21 pound bass top the catch. Today's (7/25) fluking for the Charlie Vill party from Colonia was very good, with 22 keepers to 3 1/2 pounds for 3 fishermen, plus twice as many shorts. I don't normally go for fancy fluke rigs, but today the "bells and whistles" rigs outproduced the the plain meat 3 to 1.

7/7 - A crew trip today saw slaughterhouse bass fishing between 6:15 and 7:15 am. We then headed down the beach for some seabass fishing. Although I would describe the action as a decent pick, we had some of the biggest seabass I have ever seen on the northern grounds, with several fish in the 3 to 4 pound class. Porgies and some small tog spiced the catch.

7/6 - Red hot bass fishing again this morning for the John Hoinowski party from Clinton. There seems to be no end in sight to this fishery despite the climbing water temps. The bass are full of mussels that they are feeding on right where we are fishing. A shot at fluking off of the Rockaways produced mostly shorts and a few keepers.

7/5 - Bass fishing started off slow for the David Barjum party from Cliffside Park in a weekend mob scene. A move off to the east produced an excellent shot of bass for us before we got jumped by several boats that shut it down. A try at fluking produced a ton of dogfish.

7/4 - Excellent bass fishing today for the 13 year old trio of Ronnie Quacqarini, his brother Nicky, and cousin Jimmy Rizzolo. They combined with their uncle, grandad and father for a total of 47 bass. Fluking afterward provided 10 keepers and a bunch of shorts.

7/2 - Super bass fishing this morning for the John Litowinsky party from Wall. We then headed down the beach for a good pick of keeper fluke and seabass, plus a few porgies.

Striped Bass fishing is better than ever, with no signs of letting up. Limit catches are the rule, and we have been switching over to fluke when the bass limits are filled. Recent groups include the Frank Nardi party from Little Falls, the Mike Borys family from Edgewater, Nick Clementi party from North Brunswick, the Mark Gruber party from Norristown, PA, Bill Deats and crew from Morganville, the Ken Link family from Tewksbury, Jim Petry and friends from Allentown, PA, the Steven Eckstein party from Livingston, Andrew Schmidt and crew from Jefferson Twp., the Bob Crawford group from Farmingdale, Vin Spadafino and friends from Highlands, and Ray Linfante and friends from Belleville. We took a break from the bass this past Saturday morning for the John Hoinnowsky party from Clinton. Running out to the broken bottom in 55-65 feet of water off of Monmouth Beach, we put a nice catch of big fluke and sea bass together, topped by 6 and 7 pound fluke.

June

6/3 pm - Slow bass fishing this afternoon for the Greg Czaki party from Wyckoff. Despite making five drops on the outgoing tide, we did not get so much as a bite. Trolling on the slack tide produced 1 bass and 3 giant bluefish. Setting up on the bait again for the flood tide produced 4 more bass before we had to call it quits.
6/3 am - A very good bite this morning for Dick Skinder of West Orange. The bass bit well for 2 hours on the flood, and Mr. Skinder kept his limit and released another 14 bass, plus a few bluefish.
6/2 pm - A good bass bite this afternoon for the Frank Nardi party from Little Falls. The party of 6 caught and kept a limit of bass. We then anchored on a wreck in the bay for the slack tide, and had absolutely red hot blackfishing! The guys kept their one-fish limit of large males, and released dozens of big egg-laden females. Two big seabass were also caught.
6/2 am - Very slow bass fishing this morning for Andrew Schmidt and party from Jefferson Twp. Conditions were nasty with a brisk northwest wind against the flood tide, and we were only able to scratch out a few bass.
May

5/31 pm - A mad dog bass bite in perfect conditions this afternoon for the Christian Gross party from Vernon, NJ. The party of four kept their limit plus bonus fish, and I lost count of the releases.
5/31 am - Slow bass fishing this morning for the Sean Phillips party from Levittown, PA. Very crowded weekend conditions, and we managed to boat a half dozen bass.
5/30 pm - Red Hot bass fishing for Wayne Bell form Iselin, NJ, and his two daughters. The party of 3 kept their limit, and released another 32 bass, despite the interruption by a thunderstorm.
5/30 am - A decent pick of bass on the flood tide turned into a slaughterhouse on the ebb for the Jan Bossard party from Butler, NJ. Perfect conditions and nice weather, for a change.
5/29 pm - A decent pick of bass this afternoon for Bill Deats and crew from Marlboro. The party of 5 kept their limit and released a few more on the afternoon flood.
5/29 am - A fair pick of bass this morning for the Gary Brown crew from Manasquan. We picked our limit from two drops, one in the bay and one in the ocean. Bluefish spiced the catch.
5/26 pm - A limit catch of bass this afternoon for the Ken Peereboom party from Prime Time meats in Milford, PA. We anchored up in a roaring east wind, making for very rough conditions. The bass were eager to bite, and the guys caught their limit in less than an hour, going on to release another 20 bass. As the wind and tide died off, so did the bite, and we headed in early with a beat up but happy crew.
5/26 am - A mad dog bite this morning for the Tom Williamson crew from Warwick, NY. They toughed it out in the pouring rain and nasty wind-against-tide conditions, but had fish on non-stop. We kept our limit plus bonus fish, and released until calling it quits at 11 am.
5/25 pm - Super bass fishing this afternoon for the John Merendino party from Madison Seafood in Newark. The fish were all big on the first drop, from 18 to 24 pounds. After this bite tailed off, a move to the east provided a return to the action with slots and keepers to 15 pounds. Great conditions and a great bite.
5/25 am - A good steady pick resulted in a limit of bass for the Michael Borys party from Allendale, NJ, despite the weekend boat traffic. The bite slowly tailed off, and subsequent drops yielded only bluefish.
5/24 pm - Non-stop action this afternoon for the Ray Lengyel party from Hillsborough. The party kept their limit of over 28" fish and bonus fish, as no slots were caught. The 2 biggest fish weighed in at 22 and 24 pounds. The bite tailed off with the tide, and we headed in early.
5/24 am - Very good bass fishing this morning for regulars Chris Murphy and party from Phillipsburg. The bass took some time to get started, but we got our limit plus 15-20 releases from among the hordes of angry bluefish that plagued us all morning. Plenty of action and a box of 5/0 Mustad hooks (old rusty ones) down the drain.
5/23 pm - Finding no life at all this afternoon where we had been fishing, we moved east and anchored on a small shot of readings with the John Litowinsky party from Wall Twsp. This proved to be the ticket, as the guys quickly caught their limit and released several more. The bite died off with the tide, and we headed in early to catch the start of the Devils game!
5/23 am - A good pick of bass plus bluefish this morning for the Terry McPartland party from Darien, CT. We caught our limit in wind-against-tide conditions, and pick a few more once the tide began to flood.
5/22 pm- Slow bass fishing this afternoon for the Willard-Dunham construction crew. The bass just did not seem to want to bite with any consistency in lousy conditions, and we managed only 6 bass.
5/22 am - Rather than sit wind against tide, we went on the troll with the Jim Scipione party from Lancaster, PA. We picked 3 bass on spoons, then went on the bait for the start of the flood tide. The bass bit well on clams, and the guys easily caught their limit, plus blues and multiple releases.
5/21 pm - Red hot bassing on clams for the John Doll party from Burgess Steel. Total mayhem with 3 or 4 fish on at a time for about 2 hours. The bite slowly settled into a good pick for the rest of the trip. The biggest bass went 22 pounds.
5/18 pm - A limit catch of bass this afternoon for the Tom Saverino party from Manville, after a slow start. The bass just would not co-operate at all on the outgoing tide, either on the troll or on bait. Once the incoming water began, we slammed a limit in a half hour and headed in.
5/18 am - Excellent bass fishing on bait for the Quan Beatty party from Levittown, PA this morning. We caught a limit at the western end of Raritan Bay, then headed east to fish some very rough water for some all-release fishing, with bigger fish to 18 pounds.
5/17 - We headed out this afternoon with the David Wallace party from Tinton Falls, after being blown out this morning and Friday. We found the bass eager to bite on spoons during the ebb tide, catching our limit of over 28" fish and bonus fish to 24 pounds. Once the flood started, we caught and released several more bass on clams, and headed in early with a tired and happy crew.
5/13 pm - Had regulars Bill Seavy and crew from Sherwin-Williams paint aboard this afternoon, for what would prove to be a bit of a struggle. Caught 3 bass and bluefish on clams, until the wind-against-tide worsened and made bait fishing impossible. Went on the troll and found very little life (other than bluefish) anywhere, but managed to catch another 3 big bass of 18, 22, and 24 pounds on bunker spoons.
5/12 - Excellent bass clamming for the Ron Wright party from Oradell this morning. We anchored in 14 feet of water, and had the fish coming in less than 10 minutes. The six man party had their limit of over 28" fish and bonus fish in less than an hour, (no slots were kept in NY waters) plus more bluefish than we wanted. The rest of the morning was spent releasing over 50 more bass up to 14 pounds, plus blues.
5/11 pm - Non-stop bass action on clams for two hours for Ed & Joyce Szymanski of Randolph this afternoon, who braved the fog, drizzle and wind in Raritan Bay. The bite slowly dwindled, and we called it a night early.
5/11 am - Good action with bass on clams this morning for the Mike Kronfeld crew from Tenafly. After the bait bite started to tail off, we went on the bunker spoons for steady action with larger bass up to 18 pounds, plus the increasingly-annoying bluefish.
5/10 pm - A slow pick of bass on clams this afternoon for the Jim Kubis party from Bethlehem, PA. We then went on the troll, and had a blast catching bass to 24 pounds non-stop on bunker spoons in 12-14 feet of water.
5/10 am - Had the Mike Hetrick party from Lancaster, PA this morning for an absolutely ridiculous clam bite. For the first 2 hours, 3 or 4 fish on constantly, plus bluefish, breakoffs, bite-offs, etc. My mate and I could barely keep up. It finally settled in to a steady pick. For the last hour, we pulled spoons in search of a trophy, but managed three fish in the 18 pound class, which were released.
5/9 - The Mike Melchionne party from Forked River were on board this morning. We started on the troll, catching 6 bass on spoons, but the bluefish were just too much of a problem. A switch over to bait proved to be the ticket, providing excellent steady action on clams with bass to 15 pounds.
5/8 - The Bill Deats party from Morganville were on board this afternoon for some good bunker spoon trolling action. We managed our limit of over 28" bass plus all bonus tag fish from among the hordes of bluefish. No slot bass were caught on the spoons.
5/7 - A morning to remember for the George Katillus party from Wall Township. A 38 pound bass was the very first fish to hit the deck, a minute after the spoons went in the water. The rest of the day saw constant action on the troll, both on spoons and diving plugs.
5/6 - Excellent bass fishing both on spoons and clams for the Ted Metzger group from the Pike County Outfitters in PA. A 32 pound bass topped the catch on a bunker spoon, and a switch over to clams provided all the slots and 28" to 32" bass you wanted.
5/5 - Red hot bass fishing on clams this morning for the crew from Rizzo fabrication. The party of six limited out within 45 minutes, and spent the rest of the morning releasing fish up to 15 pounds.
5/4 pm - Excellent bass fishing for the Frank Nardi party from Little Falls today. It was a pick on clams and spoons until the afternoon flood tide started, at which point it became an all-out slaughterhouse.
5/4 am - Excellent bass fishing on clams this morning for the Mike Melchionne group from West Orange. The bass bit instantly and stayed with us for the entire trip.
5/3 pm - What started as a slow pick for the Jim Kubis group from Norristown, PA became the wildest bunker spoon trolling of the season so far. We stumbled onto a small patch of readings which held bass up to 22 pounds, and could barely keep both rods in the water.
April

4/20 - A big thanks to Capt. Jim Rivelli from the Calypso, who has been helping me with my trips while the K-Kat is being prepped for launch. Today's trip for the Tzvi Bar-David party from Riverdale, NY provided a steady pick of bass on clams through the incoming tide. The fish ranged from 12" to 32". We kept our limit of slot and over 28" keepers, and released 3 dozen shorts. Countless bites were swung on and missed, providing steady action.
4/19 - A decent pick of bass today for the Chris Murphy party from Summit. We kept our limit of slots and over 28" fish, and released twice as many shorts. A try at trolling during the slack was unproductive, and a return to clamming for the start of the ebb saw a return to the action.
4/16 - A decent pick of bass for the Frank Nardi party from Little Falls. We fell one over 28" bass short of a boat limit, while releasing quite a few shorts.
4/13 - A slow pick of flounder for the Charlie Irving party today off of Cliffwood Beach, despite our best efforts. Made several drops and chummed heavily.
4/10 - Slow flounder fishing today for the Paul Silverstein party from Albany. Cold water, overcast skies and a northest wind did not help the situation. Scratched out a few keepers in the bay, then made a move to the Shrewsbury river where shorts dominated.

2002 Fishing Reports

November
11/15 - Very good blackfishing today for the Bill Seavy party from Sherwin-Williams paint. A good, steady pick resulted in a boat limit of 50 keepers up to 8 pounds, the five largest of which were released. The average size of these fish was 3-4 pounds, with very few shorts. It only took one drop off of Monmouth Beach.
11/14 pm - Pretty fair bass fishing this evening for the John Gibson party from Prudential in Middletown, considering how the fishing has been lately. We caught 2 slots and 2 keepers on the troll, and then 3 more keepers on eels after dark.
11/14 am - After 2 hours of eeling for bass this morning without a bite, it was off to the tog grounds with the Richard Skinder party from Caldwell. The blackfish bit well, and the party of 3 caught their limit of 30 fish to 5 pounds on two drops off of Sea Bright.
11/11 pm - Slow eeling tonight for the Bill Hoffman party from Roxbury. 3 bass were boated, plus a few more dropped. Bluefish were a tremendous nuisance, shredding too many eels.
11/11 am - Slow bass fishing for the Terry McPartland party today. Four keepers were boated on eels and on the troll, along with bluefish and half a dozen shorts. Unfortunately, blackfishing was not an option today with a very rough ocean.
11/10 pm - Decent eeling tonight for the Brian Feldman party from Tinton Falls. We scratched our way to a limit of 10 bass, along with plenty of bluefish cut-offs.
10/10 - Good togging today for the Jake Jakubik party from Sea Bright, despite very rough conditions. The party of 3 put 25 keepers in the box before the 30 knot south wind drove us in early.
11/9 pm - Red hot eeling tonight for the Craig Kutiak party from Tinton Falls. A limit of over 28" fish plus all bonus tags were filled during the first hour of fishing, despite marauding jumbo bluefish. No slot fish were caught. We continued to catch and release for another 2 hours, and came in early.
11/9 am - Pretty good bass fishing for the Mike Yablonsky party from Westfield. A boat limit plus 2 bonus tags were caught on the troll, and then on eels.
11/8 - Good togging this morning for the Ron Stroz party from Middletown. A slow pick built into a hot bite; 40 keepers went in the box before we left to look for a few bass on the troll. Two keepers and two slots were caught before we quit for home.
11/7 pm - Jigging as good as it gets this afternoon for the Ken Link party from Tewksbury. Despite a 25 knot Northwest wind that had the bay foaming, we found all the bass we wanted under working birds a couple of miles from the dock. The party of four easily had a quick limit of fish up to 15 pounds, and released another 40-plus fish on shads, A-27's, and topwater poppers.
11/3 pm - Good bass trolling this afternoon for the Paul Iorio party from Secaucus. Trolling around working birds, we picked our way to a limit before dark, and came in early.
11/3 am - Good blackfishing today for the Jack Dos Santos party from Lyndhurst. We picked our way to a catch of 42 keepers in 3 drops off of Sea Bright.
11/2 pm - What started out as a slow trip turned into a limit catch of bass on the troll for the Bart Moldonado party. Once we found the working birds, we got what we needed quickly, and were headed in by dark.
11/2 am - Excellent blackfishing for the Tom Gardner party from Belford today. One drop was all we needed, as 50 keepers togs to 5 pounds went into the box.
October
10/7 - Red hot fishing for false albacore plus bluefish today for the Ralph Marra party from Fair Haven. Quite possibly the best I've ever seen. We had the fish immediately, and caught them steadily the entire day. Spearing, butterfish chunks, and peanut bunker did the trick.
10/6 am - Good bass trolling for the Mushtaq Sorathia party from PA today. A limit of bass plus quite a few bluefish went into the box during the ebb tide.
10/6 pm - Very slow weakfishing this afternoon for the Frank Margiotti party from Allentown, Pa. This was our last attempt at weakfishing this season; we'll be focusing on bass, bottom fishing, and albies/ bluefish from here on out.
10/5 - Excellent bass fishing today for the Pete Meyers party from Wayne. A limit of over 28" fish plus all bonus tags, but only one slot. Jumbo bluefish to 13 pounds rounded out the catch, which came mostly on the troll.
September
9/30- Excellent chumming today for the Joe Cluxton group from Langhorn, Pa. Bluefish, Little Tunny, and all the giant porgies you wanted swimming 10 feet under the boat. It was like fishing in an aquarium, with clear water and flat calm conditions.
9/29 - Excellent weakfishing this morning for the Lee Remick party from Bethlehem, Pa., with a limit catch of fish to 5 pounds. An early shot at bass trolling yielded only bluefish, although as many as you wanted.
9/26 - Very good weakfishing for the Steve Applegate crew today in raw, rainy northeast conditions. Porgies and seabass added to the catch.
9/25 - A fair pick of weaks this afternoon for the Willard Dunham construction crew.
9/22 - A Blues/Albies trip for the Chris Murphy party from Phillipsburg turned into the finest kind of jumbo porgy slaughterhouse. After a while, we just gave up trying to get the baits past them, and filled a 150 quart cooler to the top.
9/20 - A good pick of Weakfish for the Greenpoint Mortgage group today. We put 40 in the box and came in early.
9/19 - A good catch of weakfish for the Andy Marut crew from Cranford. Porgies topped off the catch of 52 weakfish.
9/15 - Super weakfishing today for the Rob Cooper crew from Long Branch. After boxing 48 weaks by 10 am, we went on the hunt for fluke, which were not to be found in Raritan Bay.
9/14 - A decent pick of weakfish this afternoon for Mike Kronfeld (15) and his friend Sonny (11) from Tenafly. A try for bass as the sun set was not successful.
9/14 - A pick of bluefish today for the Andrew Lazar party from Montville. It never really turned on for us, so we moved inshore to Shrewbury rocks and had some fast fishing for porgies and seabass.
9/8 - A good catch of weakfish this afternoon for the Steve Fox party from NYC.
9/8 am - A fluke trip for the Manny Amador party from Newark turned into a seabass bail-a-thon. Fishing the rough bottom off of Sea Bright looking for large fluke, they simply were not there, but fortunately the seabass took up the slack nicely. Nice fish to 3 pounds.
9/7 - A good pick of seabass for the Ritchie Winter party from Paramus today, although we had to weed through quite a few shorts to put a catch together. Steady action all day.
9/6 - A good pick of Seabass today for the Vince D'Andrea party today on the rough bottom off of Sea Bright. Mostly keeper sized fish up to 3 pounds.
August:
8/24 - Good weakfishing today for the John Jabra party from 21st Century Music. Despite the brutal weekend traffic, we managed to pick 2 or 3 fish per drift, and end up with a good catch by day's end. The afternoon trip for the Raymond Yee party was tough, with no drift. When the flood tide finally started to run, the fish bit for a brief period, where we were able to scratch out a dozen fish.
8/23 - Very good weakfishing this morning for the John Aldom crew from Champion Mortgage, after a slow start. The fish turned on for us the last hour of the flood and bit well through the slack, and we were able to box 52 weakfish up to 4 pounds. The afternoon trip for the Pat McHale party from Jackson was very slow; the fish bit on a small part of the tide and then shut down.
8/22 - Excellent weakfishing today for the the John Doll party from Burgess Steel. We found the fish amidst massive bait readings on the channel edge, and the jigging was wild on Crippled Herrings and A-27's. All the fish you wanted up to 6 pounds, plus big bluefish. The blues bit at least a dozen big weakfish in half before they reached the boat. A shot at fluking was OK in Ambrose channel, but the keeper ratio was dissapointing.
8/22 - Decent weakfishing for the Matt Heagney party from Rumson today despite a very late start. We picked fish at all the usual spots, and ended up keeping 22 weaks plus bluefish and porgies.
8/18 - Good fluking this morning for the Chris Murphy party from Phillipsburg. Fishing the depths of the shipping channels around Sandy Hook, we put 24 keepers in the box, along with quite a few shorts to keep the action constant. At the tide change, we went on the hunt for weakfish, but the tide never really wanted to move and we only scratched out a few.
8/17 pm - Very good weakfishing this afternoon for the Glen Hataway party from Bethlehem, PA. Fishing the end of the incoming tide, we put 42 weakfish in the box, along with some porgies.
8/17 - Bluefishing was on tap this morning for the Scott Sergeant party from NYC. Starting at the Mud Buoy, we fished for an hour without a hit in lousy conditions. Moving a few miles east, we chummed and chunked heavily for quite a while, and finally got a good, steady pick of jumbo bluefish to 14 pounds going.
8/13 - Super bottom fishing today for the Jake Jakubek party from Sea Bright. Anchored up offshore of Sea Bright, we had a steady pick of nice sized sea bass, the largest going 3 pounds. Short blackfish were caught and released on crab baits. A six pound fluke was also caught at anchor. Opting to go on the drift for the last part of the day, five more keeper fluke came up, along with a continued steady pull of nice sea bass.
8/12 - Decent Weakfishing today for the Ritchie Winter party from Parsipanny. As has been the case recently, wind-against-tide conditions for most of the day hampered our drift. We ended up with 30 nice sized weaks by day's end.
8/11 - Decent weakfishing today for the Dave Atkinson party from Morristown. Despite the fact that we had wind-against-tide conditions, making for a poor drift, the party still managed to put 30 nice sized weakfish in the box.
8/10 - We returned to Shrewsbury rocks this morning with the Dan Sparling party from Morris Plains. To our unpleasant surprise, we found a gillnetter with his gear set across the entire area we had been fishing. Needless to say, we chummed heavily for an hour, and did not have a single bluefish run-off. A move out to the east produced a moderate pick of jumbo bluefish, with less than ideal conditions. A small Mako of about 15 pounds was released at boatside after taking some pictures.
8/9 - Decent bluefishing at Shrewsbury rocks for the Craig Buchner party from Rumson today. The fish bit well early on, then slowed up considerably. A move out to the east produced a slow, steady pick of jumbo blues, although conditions were not great for chumming.
8/4 - Slow weakfishing for the Fred Merz party from Allendale today. The tide barely moved on outgoing water, making a decent drift impossible. Ran out to the Bluefish grounds to try some chumming and found that to be equally poor, although conditions were ideal. Ran back to the bay for the start of the incoming tide where we began to pick some weakfish, only to have that fishing die out as the tide ran harder.
8/3 - Excellent Weakfishing for Frank Margiotti and friends from Allentown, PA today. Outgoing water was a pick in the morning, but the incoming later on was much better, with 3 on at a time at times. Nice fish to 5 pounds.
8/2 - Super fishing for the Tzvi Bar-David party from Riverdale, NY today. Opting to porgy fish first, we anchored on a wreck and had 85 big porgies on the outgoing tide. Weakfishing on the incoming was excellent, with the party keeping 30 weakfish to 6 pounds, and releasing another ten.
8/1 - A pick of Weakfish today for the Jerry Noll party from Bethlehem, PA. After fishing hard to put 15 weakies plus porgies in the box, we switched over to fluke, and boxed eight keepers to 3 pounds, along with quite a few shorts.
July:
7/28 - A pick of weakfish and porgies today for the David Tyler party = from Paramus, nothing like yesterday's bonanza. A switch over to fluke = was also a slow pick.
7/27 - Red hot weakfishing for the Adam Davis party from Freehold this = morning. The party of five kept 25 fish up to five pounds, and opted to = release the rest. A switch over to fluke yielded a dozen keepers to 3 = pounds. We will be targeting weakfish for the next two months.
Sorry for the lack of recent reports. Previous to the arrival of the = weakfish, we had been catching fluke, bluefish, seabass, and a few = stripers. Some recent trips include the Darren Cummings party from = Austin, TX, Dan Carr and party from Cahoots in Bridgewater, Manny Amador = and crew from Newark, Dave Gillaney party from Phillipsburg, Dee = Manigrasso party from Highlands, Mark O'Sullivan and crew from Champion = Mtg., and George Douglas and friends from Pequannock.
June:
6/25 - Excellent bass clamming this afternoon for the John Doll party from Middletown. A limit catch was easily boxed, and many slot fish released.
6/24 - A quick limit of bass on clams this morning for the Frank Nardi party from Little Falls. A switch over to fluking was dismal wherever we tried, a far cry from yesterday's good fishing.
6/23 - Super bass fishing this morning for the Chris Murphy party from Summit. After catching our limit, A switch over to fluke was surprisingly good, with 18 keepers being caught, along with tons of shorts.
6/22 - Very good bass clamming this afternoon for the Frank Margiotti party from Bethlehem, PA. A good steady pick gave us our limit plus many slots released, and we returned to the dock early.
6/22 am - A good shot of bass early on for the Anthony Sutera party from Staten Island. The bass bit well for us for about an hour, then shut right down. A switch over to fluking was fair, although mostly shorts, with 6 keepers going in the box.
6/20 pm - A good pick of bass this afternoon for the Ken Link party from Tewksbury. The slot limit was easily filled plus many slot releases, and four bass over 28" were caught.
6/20 - A slow pick of bass this morning for Ken Skorinko and sons from Allentown, PA. Every drop produced a couple of fish, and we worked hard to catch them.
6/19 - Excellent clamming for bass for the Steve Senff party from Riverview Medical Center. A quick limit was boxed up on the incoming tide, with many releases. The outgoing tide was a pick.
6/17 - A limit catch of bass on clams for the Bob Crawford party from Entenman's this morning. A shot at fluking in the river yielded half a dozen keepers, two of which went 5.4 and 4.6 pounds on the scale.
6/16 - A limit catch of bass on clams for the Jim Mulhern party from Belmar today. The fishing was somewhat slower in very crowded weekend conditions, and it took several drops to put our catch together.
6/15 pm - Red hot clamming this evening for the Doney Ibarguen party from Sayreville. The bass bit non-stop, and we returned to the dock early.
6/15 am - Excellent clamming this morning for the Jim Dunn party from Paramus. We put a limit together, released quite a few, and returned to the dock early.
6/14 - Excellent bass clamming for the Tom Foley party from Trane. After limiting out, we tried some fluking inside the point of the hook, which was no good.
6/9 - A limit catch of bass this morning for the Jim Kubis party from PA. A slow pick on the last of the incoming, but the ebb tide saw much better fishing.
6/8 - A slow day of fluking for the Pete Sivo party from Keansburg today. Hoping to place again in the JCAA tournament, we worked hard in the ocean and in the Shrewsbury & Navesink rivers looking for a contender, only to have a 3 pounder be our top fish. 'Til next year, Pete!
6/6 - Excellent clamming for regulars Bill Seavy and crew from Sherwin Williams paint. The bass bit like wild on the flood tide, and we came in early due to rain.
6/5 - Very good bass clamming for the Dan Dubrowski party from Wyckoff, NJ this afternoon. A limit catch was boxed up on the flood tide plus numerous releases.
6/3 - Excellent bass clamming for the Paul Wehber party from Allendale this morning. A limit catch was boxed by by 8:15 am, and we had to release a bunch of over 28" fish before we got our last 2 slots. A stop on a wreck at Scotland produced a few small ling, and seabass fishing was fair off Sea Bright, with shorts outnumbering keepers 3 to 1.
6/2 - Bass clamming was off this morning for the Lew Levinson party, at least in part due to the weekend traffic. Sea bass fishing off Sea Bright was pretty decent, with about a 2 to 1 short to keeper ratio.
6/1 - Very good bass clamming this evening for the Chris Mellinger party from Ramsey. We kept our limit, and released quite a few slots and keepers.
6/1 am - Excellent clamming this morning for the Terry McPartland party from Darien, Ct. A limit was boxed up before the ebb tide ran out at 7:20 am. A switch over to fluking was very slow, with four keepers that just barely made the new and wonderful 16 1/2" size limit going in the box.
May:
5/31 pm - Good clamming tonight for the Charlie Badman party from White Plains, although dominated by slot fish. We fell one over 28" keeper short of the limit, though slot releases kept the action strong.
5/30 - Excellent clamming this morning for the Ray Lengyel party from Hillsborough. A limit catch was boxed by 8:30 am, and many slot fished were released. A move to the west to try to find some bluefish was unsuccessful, but two more bonus tag bass were trolled on bunker spoons.
5/29 - A pick of bass turned into a limit catch for the Joe Schaller party from Philadelphia this morning. The fish were caught clamming on our third drop in Raritan Bay. A switch to bunker spoons provided all the action you wanted with giant bluefish to 15 pounds.
5/28 - Clamming was very slow for the Dick Skinder party from West Orange this morning. A switch to bunker spooning produced a limit catch of over 28" fish plus bonus tags, and lots of big bluefish.
5/27 - Excellent clamming this morning for the Ray Linfante party from Belleville. A limit catch of bass plus bonus tags was put together before the flood tide ended in the morning. The bass did not co-operate on bait on the ebb, and a switch to bunker spoon trolling started the action again with bass and big bluefish.
5/26 pm - Ferocious clamming this afternoon for Michael Kronfeld fom Tenafly (age 15) and his two buddies. Non-stop 2 and 3 on at a time for the entire trip, one of the best of the season so far. Michael's fish was the biggest at 21 pounds.
5/26 am - After a slow start, bass fishing broke wide open for the Naeem Hukkawala party from Manhattan today. Big bass up to 22 pounds were caught non-stop on the troll in only 12 feet of water. A switch over to bait produced equally good action until the end of the trip.
5/25 pm - Good clamming this afternoon for the John Aldom party from Champion Mortgage. A limit of over 28" fish plus all bonus tags, but only 3 slot fish were to be found. Nasty conditions in a southeast blow.
5/25 am - A slow day for the Mark Havenstrite party from PA today. Unfortunately, a late start made us miss the hot early morning bite, and only a few bass were boated.
5/24 pm - Picky bass fishing tonight for the Andy Marut party from Scotch Plains. Wind-against-tide conditions prevailed, and bait fishing was tough. Five bass plus bluefish.
5/24 am - A limit of over 28" bass plus all bonus tags filled for the John Murray party from PA this morning. No slaughter, but a pick of all big fish to 25 pounds on fresh bunker. No slot fish were to be found, but no one seemed to mind.
5/23 - A limit catch of bass for the Bill Deats party from Marlboro this evening, with the largest fish going 20 pounds. The first part of the trip was unproductive in a roaring incoming tide, but the fish came on strong as the water slacked off. All fish were caught during the last hour of the flood.
5/22 pm - Frustrating fishing this evening for the Rick Scott party from Little Silver. It was just one of those nights, with bass being lost left and right due to pulled hooks during the fight and at boatside, premature hook sets, etc. Six bass went in the box, with too many missed and lost.
5/22 am - Solid bassing on clams this morning for the Brian Feldman party from Asbury Park. After a couple of our dependable spots turned out slow, we fished the far reaches of Raritan bay for a steady pick of bass to 17 pounds, keeping the limit and releasing the rest. All of the action was on the ebb tide.
5/21 - Exceptional clamming for the Joe Heitman party this afternoon. A steady pick turned into a 3-on-at-a-time slugfest on the ebb tide.
5/20 - Trolling produced a limit of over 28" bass to 22 pounds for the Rob Apiscopo party from PA this morning. A switch to clamming was excellent, filling the slot limit, and releasing fish to 18 pounds. All of the action was on the outgoing tide.
5/19 pm - Super clam fishing for the Jay Staudt party from Hillsborough this evening. Over 80 bass were boated, as we kept our limit of fish to 17 pounds.
5/19 am - Excellent bass clamming for the Chris Murphy party from Summit this morning. We got our limit in 35 minutes at the end of the outgoing tide, with Chris' 25 pounder being the largest. An attempt at fluking was a slow pick of keepers in between shorts and sea robins. We ended up with a dozen fluke to 4 pounds.
5/18 - Bass fishing was very slow in today's howling nor'easter for the Bob King party from Oakland. Dropping the anchor to bait fish was out of the question in very rough conditions, and trolling produced only bluefish and a lone bass.
5/17 - Bass fishing was good tonight for the Willard -Dunham construction crew on bait and on the troll. The party of four kept their limit, the largest fish going 24 pounds on a bunker spoon.
5/14 pm - Good trolling this afternoon for the Greg Czsaki party from Wyckoff, N.J. in a howling west wind. After putting a limit bass catch together in very rough conditions, we decided to quit early and head back to the dock.
5/13 pm - The fishing was excellent this afternoon for the Willard-Dunham construction co. from Woodbridge. A limit catch of bass plus bonus fish were kept, several more released, and we headed in early due to some green complexions.
5/13 am - Trolling was super this morning for the Kurt Framhien party from Easton, PA. A limit plus bonus fish went into the box in a hard east wind and rain. Clam fishing was slow in wind-against-tide conditions later on, as four bass were boated and released.
5/11 pm - Some of the best trolling of the season so far for the Andrew Schmidt party from Jefferson, NJ this evening. A limit of over 28" fish to 22 pounds plus bonus tag fish were kept, including three 15 pounders on one rig. Another dozen big fish were released, including one that was longer than the cooler, estimated at around 25 pounds. One slot fish was caught and released.
5/11 am - Excellent trolling this morning for the Spencer reynolds party from Doylestown, PA. A limit of over 28" fish plus bonus tags were boxed. An attempt at clamming was slow, producing 3 keepers on 3 different drops, all of which were released.
5/10 pm - A quick limit tonight for the Ray Lengyel party from Hillsborough, including bonus tag fish to 24 pounds. Another 11 fish were released, and we returned to the dock early.
5/10 am - Very good trolling for the Ron Wright party from Ringwood, NJ this morning. We kept our limit of over 28" fish and bonus tags, as well as 3 slots. Clamming was slow, producing 2 keepers, which were released.
5/7 am - The Tzvi Bar-David party from Riverdale, NY had some exceptional bass fishing in Raritan bay today. The 3 man party limited out on the troll, and caught and released another 25 bass plus bluefish on clams in perfect conditions.
5/7 pm - A limit catch of bass on the troll for the Gordon Quin party from Ramsey this evening, with all nice sized fish to 20 pounds.
5/8 - A limit catch of bass for the Matt Tucker party from Monmouth Beach today. Trolling shad rigs was the ticket. An attempt at clamming was unsuccessful in wind-against-tide conditions.
5/9 am - Excellent trolling for the Paul Silverstein party from Albany, NY this morning, with a limit catch of bass to 19 pounds. By 10 o'clock, the guys had enough of the wind and rain, and we headed in.
5/9 pm - Super fishing tonight on clams and bunker for the Bill Seavy party from Sherwin-Williams paint. Bluefish were a nuisance, but we put together a limit bass catch in very good bait fishing conditions.
5/4 am - The Mike Hetrick party from Allentown, PA had a limit catch of bass, topped by a 32 pounder, on bunker spoons and clams in Raritan Bay this morning.
5/4 pm - The Michael Borys party from Boonton, NJ had a limit catch of bass this evening on bunker spoons and shad rigs. The largest fish went 22 pounds, and added excitement was provided by a 6 foot long sturgeon, estimated at around 80 pounds, that was foul hooked in the tail and released.
5/5 am - Slower bass fishing today for the John Merendino party from Clark. Four keepers were boated, and another three lost at boatside due to pulled hooks.
5/5 pm - Good bait fishing tonight for the Jay Staudt party from Hillsborough, although predominantly bluefish. Four keeper bass were boated, and it took awhile and heavy chumming to get the fish going. Clams and cut herring were the baits of choice.
5/6 am - Wild fishing on the troll for the Glen Hataway party from Doylestown, PA this morning. A quick limit of over 28" fish to 20 pounds, and a switch to clams to try to get some slots was unproductive.
5/6 pm - Slaughterhouse bass fishing on clams tonight for the Jack Dos Santos party from Lyndhurst. As good as you could hope for.

April:
4/24 - Ted Metzger and friends from Bethlehem, PA were aboard today for our first trip of the season after a mechanical delay. We found the bass waiting for us, catching our limit of fish to 24 pounds on spoons, and filling our slot limit plus numerous releases on clams. Excellent fishing, and amazing weather.
4/24 pm - Mike Lovinrich and family from Red Bank were aboard this afternoon. Opting to go straight to the bait, we limited out with fish to 22 pounds.
4/26 - Regulars Bill Seavy and crew from Sherwin-Williams were aboard this afternoon in some windy conditions. After trolling fo 4 miles without a reading or a hit, we went on the bait in terrible wind-against-tide conditions, and had fish on immediately, limiting out on fish to 15 pounds.
4/27 - Ray Lengyel and crew from Hillsborough were aboard this morning. A steady pick on clams gave us a limit catch plus numerous releases, although slots far outnumbered over 28" fish.
4/28 - "T" and friends from Manville were aboard this morning. We found the fishing to be slower than it has been, limiting on slots plus many slots released, but only managing two fish over 28". The fish seemed finicky and and were difficult to hook.

2001 Fishing Reports

December:
This is our last report of the season. Thanks to everyone that sailed with us this year, and we'll see you in April 2002. Have a happy and safe New Year.
12/8 - Very good togging for the Mike Lettera party from Paramus. A limit catch was boated in 50 feet of water, including several fish in the 5 to 6 pound class, which were released.
12/5 - Gene Fabio and friends were aboard this morning. Found excellent bass trolling under birds in Sandy Hook bay, catching the boat limit plus 5 bonus fish in about an hour. Nice sized fish to 18 pounds, feeding on peanut bunker and large sea herring. Went togging and found a decent bite, fighting through lots of shorts to box 25 keepers to 4 pounds.
12/5 - Good togging today for the Jake Jakubik party. The bite was slow in the morning, and got better as the day went on. About 35 keepers went in the box, and shorts outnumbered keepers 3 to 1.
12/2 - Inshore togging bounced back in excellent conditions for the Jack Dos Santos party today. A slow, steady pick resulted in a limit catch in 45 feet, topped by two 8 pounders, which were released.
12/1 - Had the Scott Paciello party from Staten Is. out this morning. We found the inshore tog fishing to be very slow in a large swell. Went out to 100 feet, and were surprised to find a pretty good sea bass bite. Around 50 keepers to 2 1/2 pounds were boated, and lots of spiny dogs to keep the crew busy.
November:
11/26 - Bass trolling was excellent for the Jeff Darnell party from Hamilton, NJ today. We had our boat limit in one hour, with better sized fish than the past few days. Blackfishing was unusually slow.
11/24 - Fast action on the troll for the Ron Bizosso party from Middletown today. Fish were on the small side, caught our slot limit and one over 28". Went togging and found that fishing to be very good, 35 keepers to 6 pounds.
11/23 pm - Excellent bass fishing for the John Aldom party this evening. Trolled our slot limit and 3 over 28", then went on the eels in the dark. Eeling was very good, finishing out our limit plus two bonus tags, and releasing 5 keepers.
11/23 am - Fast trolling under birds for the Bob Stroz party from Middletown. Had to work through many shorts for our slot limit and one over 28". Blackfishing was a decent pick, boxing 22 keepers and releasing many shorts.
11/22 - A slow pick on the troll for the Eric Winniki party from Neptune. Lots of short bass, finally picked our slot limit but had to work for it.
11/21 - Very good eeling for the Ken Link party from Tewksbury this evening. Kept our limit of over 28" fish and released several in the 15 pound class. Only two slot bass were caught on eels.
11/18 am - Jack Dos Santos and crew from Lyndhurst were aboard this morning for a blackfish slaughterhouse. Fishing two drops, we caught the boat limit, topped by 10 fish in the 4-5 pound class. Our best tog bite of the season, so far.
11/18 pm- Brian Feldman and friends were aboard this afternoon. We found the eeling to be a slow pick, boating five over 28" fish. Quite a few were swung on and missed.
11/17 - Chris Murphy and crew from Summit were aboard this morning.We found fast action on the troll, but with mostly slot fish. Two fish over 28" we boated.
11/15 pm - Sean Moore and friends were aboard this afternoon. Finding the eeling to be slow, we trolled under working birds and had furious action until sundown, limited out and returned early.
11/15 am - Tommy McCrink and friends were aboard this morning. We found the blackfish bite to be very finicky, and this proved frustrating to these mostly first-time toggers. A switch to eeling for bass was slow.
11/12 am - Had Joe Kelly party from the Kearny post office aboard this morning. We found the eeling to be excellent, quickly filling the over 28" limit, then releasing another 6 big fish. Going on the troll, we had to pick through keepers and shorts to fill our limit of normally abundant slots.
11/12 pm - Chuck Deeney and crew from the Irvington fire department were aboard tonight. Opted to troll in lousy wind-against-tide conditions, and found it to be unusually slow. Went on the drift and scratched out five keepers in tough conditions.
11/11 pm - Carl Brunell and friends from Clinton were aboard this afternoon. Trolling produced a slot limit, and we found the eeling and worming to be excellent after dark, filling our over 28" limit, and releasing several keepers.
11/11 am - Tony Tom and crew were aboard this morning for some togging in very rough 35 knot wind conditions. We boated 15 keepers plus numerous shorts before heading in early to catch the slack tide around Sandy Hook. Definitely a Viking adventure we won't be looking to repeat again soon.
11/10 - Decent bass trolling for the Tom Gardner crew from Belford. Picking our slot limit plus 3 over 28" in heavy weekend traffic, we headed for the tog grounds at 9 am, and found that fishing to be a good pick. 25 keepers plus many shorts were boated.
11/8 - The Dunham Construction crew from Woodbridge were aboard today. We found the trolling and jigging to be outstanding, with a boat limit boxed before 8 a.m., topped by a 20 pounder jigged on a shad body. A run south to the blackfish grounds found the togs snapping, with 38 keepers going in the box, plus countless shorts released.
11/7 - Jack Dos Santos and crew from Lyndhurst were aboard tonight for some relatively slow eeling. Five keepers went in the box, with many fish missed and dropped.
11/4 pm - Had the Felix Marusic party from Washington, NJ out tonight. We trolled our slot limit, plus one 20 pound bass and lots of bluefish under working birds. Going on the eels after dark, we finished out the limits with all nice fish to 17 pounds. The eeling was a slow pick.
11/4 - Congratulations to our good friend and dock neighbor John Mattuecci of North Middletown, NJ for winning first place in the Monmouth Beach Cartoppers Striped Bass tournament. John smoked the competition with a combined weight of 113.6 pounds (four bass). All the fish came on eels after dark, topped by a 32 pounder. Way to go!
11/4 am- We had the Steve Ha party from Hoboken aboard this morning. Trolling was good until the weekend traffic became unbearable. Stopping one 28" fish shy of our limit, we headed to the rough bottom off Sea Bright, where perfect condtions had the togs chewing. Once again, first-time tog fishermen got the hang of it quickly, kept 15 keepers and released the rest, plus loads of shorts.
11/3 pm - Spencer Reynolds and crew from Bethlehem, PA were aboard tonight. Trolling was red hot under acres of working birds, with lots of bluefish mixed in. Eeling after dark finished out our limit of over 28" fish, and we returned to the dock early. Super fishing and perfect weather.
11/3 am - Tom Rotondaro and party from Albany, NY were aboard this morning. Bass trolling was good, catching our slot limit and 3 over 28" by 8:30 am. A switch over to blackfishing saw fair fishing in very tough anchoring conditions. Boxed 18 keepers and released loads of shorts.
11/2 pm - The crew from Willard-Dunham construction were abord this afternoon. Trolling under working birds saw fast action, but small fish. A move to the east gave us a better keeper ratio, and eeling after dark finished out our limit.
11/2 am - Bill Seavy and crew from Sherman-Williams paint were aboard this morning. Trolling working birds and deep readings gave us a bass limit by 9 am. A run down the beach to the rough bottom found the tog bite to be excellent in a nasty roll on the anchor. Boxed 22 keepers and came in early due to some green complexions.
October:
10/30 - Clint Brown and crew from Monmouth Fence were aboard today. We were one 28" bass short of a limit when we decided to go blackfishing. This fishing started out slowly, and built into a very good bite, topped by Clint's 6 pounder. First time togging for these guys, and they did well, boxing 25 keepers.
10/29 p.m. - The Rocco Catalano party from Brick were aboard this afternoon for a bass trip. This fishing was not great, with five fish going into the box on the troll before dark. Two more were added on eels.
10/29 a.m.- Bob Crawford and crew from Entenman's were aboard this morning. We found the trolling to be fair, boating a slot limit and 3 fish over 28". Several other slots were released.
10/28 - Pat McHale and friends were aboard this morning. Bird life was abundant all over the bay today, and slot bass were numerous. Filled the slot limit trolling right away, but worked all day to fill out the over 28" limit. A good day with non-stop action.
10/27 p.m. - Joe Frenchick and crew from Fair Haven were out tonight. Ran down the beach looking for bird life to no avail. Went back up into the bay and had a very slow pick trolling, 4 slots and 2 over 28".
10/27 a.m.- Bill Blomquist and crew from Rumson were aboard today. Found bird life down the beach where we picked a few fish, but it never really came together. Ran back to the bay and slowly picked five more bass. Totaled 5 slots and 3 over 28".
10/25 - Jerry Noll and friends from P.A. were aboard this afternoon for some trolling in rough, windy conditions. Trolled up a limit catch of bass plus some bluefish, and returned to the dock early.
10/24 - The Jim Westegaard party from Pinella's Poultry joined us this afternoon. Unfortunately, a late start gave us very little trolling time, where we were able to box 3 bass. Eeling after dark was completely un-productive.
10/22 - The Jay Staudt party from Hillsborough were aboard this afternoon. We trolled up a limit in beautiful, calm conditions (getting rare now). Eeling after dark was no good.
10/21 pm- The Ron Wright party from Ringwood were aboard this afternoon. We picked away on the troll, and ended up putting together a limit catch of bass before dark. Got roughed up quite a bit in some nasty conditions, with a hard south wind up into an outgoing tide. Made a quick attempt at eeling in the dark, to no avail, and returned to the dock early.
10/21 am- The Rich Wood party were aboard this morning. Trolling was a slow pick all day, nothing at all like yesterday's bonanza. Worked hard for 5 bass over 28", and four slot fish.
10/20 - Excellent trolling for the Jay Tempe party from Ringwood. A limit of over 28" fish and all bonus tags filled, but only 2 slot fish. A switch to bottom fishing produced a pick of tog and sea bass.
10/18 - Decent eeling for Jack Dos Santos and crew from Lyndhurst tonight. 9 keepers to 15 pounds went in the box during the flood tide, with that many again missed and broken off.
10/13 - The John Swanda party from Tinton Falls were aboard for a bass trip today. Eeling produced nothing for us at several spots, so we switched over to trolling. A decent pick, with 7 bass to 12 pounds going in the box.
10/14 - The east wind kicked the bass fishing into high gear for Chris Murphy and crew from Summit this morning. The boat limit was reached by 8 a.m., and all bonus tags were filled shortly thereafter . Returned to the dock early.
Oct. 9 - Absolutely super bottom fishing for the Andy Beko group from Freehold. The party of three put together a catch of 45 giant porgies, 40 keeper sea bass up to 3 pounds, and kept the 3 fish blackfish limit. Several other togs were released.
Oct. 10 - Another day of great bottom fishing for the Paul Silverstein party from Albany. This party of first-time bottom fishermen put together a catch of sea bass to 3 pounds, big porgies, and 35 keeper blackfish to 5 pounds on green crabs and clams. Looks like the tog bite is on with the opening of the season.
0ct. 10 pm - A slow night of eeling for the Jack Dos Santos party from Lyndhurst. Started out in the rip, where the supposed bite has been, and saw two fish caught in a giant fleet. Our next move to another spot put four keepers to 13 pounds in the boat quickly, then died out. All subsequent moves produced nothing for the remainder of the tide.
Sorry for the lack of recent reports, but we have been plagued by mechanical problems and bad weather cancellations over the past two weeks.
We got out bass fishing last night, Oct. 5, with the Jay Staudt party from Hillsborough. We found the eeling to be a pick, finding sporadic action everywhere we went. The fish were nice sized, up to 17 pounds. We ended up with with six, and lost at least that many again due to pulled hooks, break-offs, etc. A decent start to the fall run.
September:
The Dan Rubano party from NYC started the day with a Mudhole troll. After 3 hours without a hit, we decided to go bluefishing. Not encouraged by reports of slow fishing by the fleets at the usual spots, we anchored up on our own offshore of the Snake, and soon had very good fishing. One bonito spiced the catch.
The Joe DuPont party party from Highlands left the dock in search of Weakfish, but called the day short on account of high winds and steady rain.
The Mike Yaniak party had very good weakfishing with perfect condtions, a steady north-northeast wind blowing us across the Reach channel.
The Jerry Noll party from PA had excellent weakfishing, with plenty of Porgies to spice the catch.
The Dan Wright party had excellent bluefishing at 17 Fathoms in perfect conditions. Fish on constantly, up to 13 pounds.
Chris Marra and friends had a good pick of fluke in the Ambrose channel along with constant shorts. A switch to weakfishing provided a steady pick, along with porgies.
The Greg Czaki party from Wyckoff found the Weakfishing to be slow on an afternoon trip, boating a dozen, plus bluefish.
Chris Smith and crew from Chester had a slow morning, but fast fishing once conditions improved with the Weakfish in the Reach channel, boating 45 fish.
Jay Tempe and crew from Oakland found decent Weakfishing on an afternoon outing, boating one or two per drift, totaling 30 fish. Bluefish spiced the catch.
Fishing in the Sandy Hook area is holding up very well. Weakfish in Raritan bay, fluking in the depths of Sandy Hook and Ambrose channels, and porgy fishing on the rough bottom are all producing very well. Good catches this week for the Dan Buchan, Kurt Franhien, Dave Schreckenstien, Mike Tobin, Ron Jarabek, David Lazarus, Michael Boris, Ralph Petricone, Alberto Cassis, Julio Rosas, and Clint Brooks parties.
August:
Weakfishing is now in full swing, I am happy to report. The fish are just a short run from the dock. Excellent catches were had this past week by the Jim Kelly party from Port Monmouth, the Jim Gallagher party from Upper Saddle River, the John Jabra party from 21st Century Music, The Fred Wilson party from the Bronx, Jay Staudt and friends from Hillsborough, and the Richie Winter group from Parsipanny. We will be concentrating our efforts on the Weakies as long as the fishing remains good.
Bluefishing in the bay continues to be excellent, along with enough striped bass to keep things interesting.
The Ken Link party from Tewksbury found the trolling to be excellent for blues, with multiple double headers over the lumps in the bay. Attempts at weakfish worming before and after bluefishing were unsuccessful.
The Ralph Petricone party from Oakland, NJ, found the weakfishing to be slow. A switch to chumming and chunking turned out to be excellent, with bluefish on constantly, along with 4 keeper bass. The blues ran from 5 to 10 pounds, and bit until the tide ran out.
July:
Bluefishing has been red hot in the bay, along with a fair amount of bass mixed in.
The Sam Wiengold party from Freehold had fast action on the troll on Thursday with blues to 11 pounds and slot bass. Chunking was a good pick of 5-7 pound blues.
The Bill Blomquist party from Rumson had excellent trolling for bluefish on Saturday, filling the cooler and releasing the rest. Four slot bass were caught as well. A switch to chunking was a slow pick.
The Matt Jones party from Rumson had excellent trolling for big bluefish and some short bass on Sunday. A switch to chunking was excellent, 3 on at a time, until conditions deteriorated with wind against tide.
Recently, we have been fluking, trolling, or doing a little of both on our trips.
The Darren Cummings party from Houston had two bass, bluefish to 15 pounds, and 16 keeper fluke off of Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach.
The Mark Radley party from East Windsor had 17 keeper fluke, having to wade through a ton of shorts to put their catch together. The action was again off Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach.
Trolling for the Larry Jaskot Party from Hackensack was very slow off Sea Bright. A run back north to Sandy Hook bay found fast action trolling diving plugs for 2-3 pound blues, with a couple of slammers mixed in.
The Vinny Rubertone party from East Rutherford had a pick of jumbo blues off Sea Bright, till the action died with the tide. Chunking in the bay provided a ferocious Dogfish onslaught, one of the worst I've seen. A switch back to trolling plugs had a pick of smaller bluefish.
The Chris Murphy party from Summit had two decent shots of Fluke, one in the morning near the Verrazano, and another in the afternoon near Chapel Hill. 21 keepers and a ton of shorts.
The Bob DeStefano party from Montville had good bluefish trolling off of Sea Bright in very rough conditions. A switch to fluking put 10 keepers in the box near Chapel Hill.
The Fred Perkins party had excellent Bluefish trolling off Sea Bright. Ocean fluking was a pick off the Tradewinds, and a trip back to the bay found the fluking there to be very slow.
The Lee Van Gaalen party from Wyckoff had fast action on the troll with bluefish off Sea Bright. A ton of life there, and hardly anyone fishing it.
Captain Ken Dubman reports:
6/18- Kurt Framhien and family from Bethlehem, PA joined us today for a Bass/Fluke combo. We limited out on our second drop with some ferocious action, 3 on at a time. A switch to fluking in perfect conditions down the beach yielded a dozen keepers, plus many shorts and too many sea robins.
6/19- The Glenn Hataway party from Allentown, PA were aboard this morning for some very good bass fishing. Slot limit was filled, but we fell 2 shy on over 28" fish. A switch to fluking put 8 keepers in the box, plus a ton of shorts.
6/19 pm- Jack Dos Santos and friends from Newark were aboard tonight. Fishing was very slow early on, but came on strong at sunset for some frenzied action to limit the boat out in quickly.
6/21- The Chris Marra party from Wayne were aboard today for a fluke trip. Action was a steady pick all day, although we had to wade through a huge amount of shorts to put a catch together. We ended up with 18 keepers to 2.5 pounds.
6/21 pm- The Bill Seavy party from Sherwin-Willliams paints were aboard tonight for a beating in very rough conditions. The fishing was furious once we got them going, quickly filling the slot limit, but falling two shy with the over 28"s. Many slots were released, and dogfish were numerous and annoying.
6/22- Jeff Helman and family from Martinsville were aboard today. The morning was unusually slow for us on the incoming tide, making many drops and not doing well on any of them. On outgoing water, it was a different story as the bass came on strong, filling our slot limit plus numerous releases, and catching 4 over 28".
6/22 pm- Jeff Lyons and friends from Somerville were aboard tonight. Our first drop was a pick, catching 3 keepers and two slots, plus the ever present dogfish and fire chickens (sea robins). Our second drop was a full on slaughter, 3 on at a time till quitting time.
6/23 Regulars Chris Murphy and friends from Summit were aboard this morning. The bass fishing was a good steady pick on incoming water, filling our slot limit plus numerous releases, and two over 28". A switch to fluking was slow at first, then got better south of the Ammo pier in a good southerly breeze with the tide. 10 keepers went in the box, plus many shorts.
06/17/01
Captain Ken Dubman reports:
Striped Bass fishing continues to be very good, although not a guaranteed slaughter on every trip. Some trips limit out, others are a pick where the bite is fussy and you work for every fish. Slot fish outnumber the "keeper keepers" (over 28") by 10 to 1 at times, but keep the rods bent.
Recent trips include the Jeff Lyons party from Belle Mead, Steve Koski from Brooklyn, Dave Murphy, Jay Staudt, Ed & Joyce Szymanski, Tom Reta, Don Detis, Bob Crawford & party from Entenman's, Greg Czaki from Wyckoff, Rick Scott from Little Silver, Joe Frenchick from Fair Haven, Tzvi Bar David from Riverdale, Charlie Badman from White Plains, Jay Tempe, John Stiegler, and Brian Wermers from Manchester.
Pete Sivo from Middletown fished with us on June 9th for the Jersey Coast Anglers fluke tournament. Fishing the rough bottom off Sea Bright, we were able to scratch out a 7.04 pound fluke that was good for second place in the Northern sector. Pete fished a jumbo sand eel with a spinner skirt and a stinger hook to catch the big fish, which were rare that day. His fluke was worth $500 in merchandise at Boater's World, and bragging rights at the awards banquet in Atlantic City.
5/23 through 5/29
Captain Ken Dubman reports:
5/23 pm- Had the Bill Seavy party out this evening. Could not get clams for bait, and simply could not get away from the bluefish using bunker, although they did provide constant action. Ended up with 2 bass.
5/25 am- Had the Jim McCarthy party out today. What was scheduled as a Blackfish trip ended up being a bass trip because of east winds. We found the fishing to be excellent, limiting out early and switching to fluking, which was terrible.
5/25 pm- Had Jonathan Blatt and kids out tonight. Setting up to bait fish in terrible wind-against-tide conditions, we found the bass to be suicidal, almost limiting out before the tide change made things more comfortable. Once the incoming water began, things straightened out and the fishing continued to be excellent.
5/26 am- Chris Murphy and party from Summit were aboard this morning. A try at fluking was completely un-productive in a no-drift situation. The fish that were caught were very small. Bass fishing later in the day was a decent pick.
5/26 pm- The Kronfeld boys from Tenafly were aboard tonight for some excellent bass fishing. Quickly limiting out, they caught and released until they were whipped, and came in early.
5/27am- Bob Tanza and crew joined us today in the thickest fog of the season. A lack of clams today made catching more difficult, but our last drop found some nice bass willing to eat bunker, including a 32 pounder, which kind of made up for our lack of numbers today.
5/28 am- The Ray Linfante party from Bellevile were aboard this morning. Excellent weather, (finally) and super fishing. The guys wore themselves out, and we were in early.
5/29 am- Paul Donelly and family from Washinton, NJ were aboard this morning. Bait fishing was super on both tides, limit was kept, and over 40 released.
5/29 pm- Len Zema and family were aboard tonight. Bass were not co-operative at all on our first 3 drops, even though I could read them right under the boat on the third drop. We finally hit them hard on our last drop, but were forced in early by thunderstorms.
5/18 through 5/20
Captain Ken Dubman reports:
5/18 am- The Steve Levinson party from Lake Hopatcong was aboard this morning. We found the bass to be picky and hard to locate this morning for the first time this month. Spent most of the morning trolling spoons, totaling five keepers. A switch to bait got us two more keepers, plus slots which were released in New York waters.
5/18 pm- The Jay Staudt party from Hillsborough was aboard this afternoon, and what a difference a tide makes. A run deep into Raritan Bay found large schools of bunker being pushed by bass and monster bluefish. Bunker spoons provided non-stop action with bass to 26 pounds, and bomber blues which were hard to get away from. Bait fishing on the outgoing tide saw very good action with bass only.
5/19 am- The Jim Kubis party was aboard this morning. Trolling around swirling bass, we had excellent action on spoons, and big bluefish were once again present and annoying. This action died out around 9am, when a switch to bait proved fruitless. Returning to trolling saw only bluefish.
5/19 pm- Bill Deats and friends joined us this evening. Trolling in the far reaches of the bay once again had giant blues demolishing our spoons. A switch to bait had fast action with both big bass to 20 pounds and bluefish. 6 bass between 17 and 20 pounds went into the box, and all slots released.
5/20 am- Greg Golasso and party from Albany were aboard today for a tough outing. Readings of any kind were hard to locate anywhere in the bay, which was rough in a stiff easterly breeze, wind against tide. Trolling spoons got us 3 bluefish, then even that died out. Switching over to bait in NY waters, I thought we would get something going as a pick of slot bass began to build even as lines ran toward the bow, but then died out as fast as it started.
5/16 through 5/17
Captain Ken Dubman reports:
5/16- Had the Mike Murray Construction Co. out this afternoon. We set up to bait fish on slack water, and had 5 keepers and 3 slots. This action died out with the outgoing tide up into the wind. A switch to trolling slightly to the east resulted in excellent action on spoons, with the two biggest fish going 22 and 25 pounds.
5/17- The Jay Tempe party from Ringwood joined us this morning. Bunker spooning got us 10 keepers on outgoing water. This action died out as slack approached. We located very good readings further east, and anchored on them as incoming water began. The bait fishing began as a pick, and slowly built to a 3-on-at-a-time frenzy. Outstanding fishing.
5/14 through 5/15
Captain Ken Dubman reports:
5/14-This morning, we had the Bob Crawford party from Enteman's aboard. The first drop produced a flurry of bass on bait, then quickly dropped off. Rather than hunt around, we went on the troll, and had non-stop action on spoons, quickly limiting out, and catch-and releasing fish to 19 pounds.
5/14 pm- Had the Greg Czaki party from Wyckoff aboard this evening. Went back to the same area as the morning trip, and had non-stop bunker spoon action with fish to 24 pounds.
5/15- The Aaron Tomaskovic party from Wayne was aboard this morning for some very good bunker spooning. Not slaughter fishing, but good, limiting out by 9:00 am, and catch-and-releasing till 11:30, when hard northwest winds sent us back to the dock early.
5/15 pm- The Randy Sloyer party from Perkiomenville, PA was aboard this evening. We settled in to bait fish where we trolled this morning, and literally limited out in 15 minutes with fish to 19 pounds. 45 minutes of the most insane bait fishing I've seen this season. After that, a steady pick of catch-and-release until we pulled the hook at 8:00 pm.
5/9 through 5/12
Captain Ken Dubman reports:
This past week was consistently excellent for bass both on the troll and on bait. Limits and catch-and-release fishing for Paul Silverstein from Albany, Ken Link and family from Tewksbury, Kurt Franhein and family from Bethlehem, PA, Eric Winnicki and friends from Neptune, Bill Seavy group from Cranford, Dave Kemp group from Clifton, and Gordon Quin and family. I did find the bass to be not quite as suicidal Saturday morning, due to very heavy boat traffic. This bounced right back on the evening trip.
05/06/01
Captain Ken Dubman reports:
The Sunday, 5/6 trip for the Christian Gross party was a moderate steady pick of bass on bunker spoons, totaling 15 over 28", 9 kept, the largest going 18 pounds. No slot fish were caught on the troll, and we had a few bluefish.
05/06/01
Captain Ken Dubman reports:
The Sunday, 5/6 afternoon trip for the Ron Jakara party from Edgewater saw excellent bait fishing for bass in perfect conditions, incoming tide with a moderate easterly breeze. Fish on steadily for four hours, sizes ranging from 20 inch rats to the largest of 14 pounds.
05/05/01
Captain Ken Dubman reports:
The Sat. 5/5 charter for the Mike Yablonsky party from North Haledon found decent bass trolling on spoons in very crowded conditions early on. A switch to bait fishing was very good, finishing out the limits, and catching and releasing.
05/04/01
Captain Ken Dubman reports:
The charter for the Bill Simila party from Closter saw excellent bass fishing on both trolled artificials and bait. Limits and bonus tags were filled, the largest fish weighing 32 pounds.
05/03/01
Captain Ken Dubman reports:
The charter for the Ron Silverman party from Fort Lee had very good bass fishing on clams in the bay. The fish bit steadily throughout the afternoon incoming tide.
04/26/01
Captain Ken Dubman reports:
Went out solo today after finishing some boat work earlier than anticipated. Trolled one spoon and one plug, had 3 keepers to 18 pounds and 7 slots in two hours worth of fishing. Bunkers all over the bay. Looks good.

04/23/01
Captain Ken Dubman reports:
Greetings, everyone,
We have been flounder fishing and striped bass fishing. The flounder fishing has been up and down, some days better than others. The same with the bass. The Sat., April 21 charter for the Dave Dyson party from Clifton yielded 3 keeper bass and 4 slot bass on deep diving plugs in Raritan bay. The Sunday, April 22 charter for the Chris Murphy party from Summit found super ling fishing in 80 feet of water. 3 on at a time for about an hour and a half. A drop in 50 feet found no life at all, and a drop in 110 feet yielded only conger eels and a few bergalls. Still awaiting the influx of big bass that will take bunker spoons into Raritan bay. That fishing should break open any day now.

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