Backbay Slam!

Fished today with Mike S and his son Mike in the bay. We started out
fluking and ended up with four keepers and a bunch of throwbacks. We
lost a giant fluke over 8 pounds and around 30 inches right next to
the boat but just out of reach. What a heartbreaker! When the tide
peaked we switched over to poppers and caught and released four
stripers to 26 inches and a bunch of blues. Big Mike hooked a bull of
a striper that ran off a bunch of drag and then simply let go of the
plug. Little Mike caught his first fish on a popper, a nice blue. So
with stripers, fluke, and bluefish coming to the boat we had our
backbay slam. If only there were some weakfish around we could have
had the grand slam! What a great day with nice people.

Memorial Day Sunday Stripers and Blues

Fished with Tim A and Tiffany T in the back bay. Midday. Bright
sunshine. Boat traffic galore. Didn't matter though we slayed em
anyway. After looking around and missing a fish or two we found them.
We had a mini blitz of stripers and blues on poppers on the flats. We
ended up with four stripers and a bunch of blues. What a beautiful day.

Opening Day of Flounder Season

Fished with Kevin M, his son Zack, and brother in law Chris today for
opening day of flounder season. We had a great time and caught six
nice keepers to about 3 1/2 pounds. The biggest fish was around 22
inches. We had lots of throwbacks as well. We were fishing with white
bucktails and gulp mullet with a minnow dropper. Some if the keepers
ate the jig while the majority of the fish ate the minnow. Zack
caught his first keeper fluke ever today. Great day.

Flats Blues

Fished tonight with Rich D and his friend Dave in the back on the
flats. We had great action on blues on poppers. We found fish in
several different places and the best action occured where the blues
had spearing pushed up against the bank. We had blitzing conditions in
two different areas with scattered fish in many other places. Great
visual bites.

Bluefish on the Flats

Slick calm high tide today produced a ton of topwater action on the
flats. Blues pounced on poppers with reckless abandon in the shallow
water. Tons of bait were being worked by birds along the sod banks.
Stripers also bit when they managed to get to the lure before the
blues. It was absolutely gorgeous at sunset. Great tide.

Offshore Early Start

Fished with John and Will M. this weekend out of Oregon Inlet on the
Regulator. We ended up with two dolphin and a couple of small
yellowfin tuna. We also had a couple of shots at some cruising cobia
along the beach but could not connect. It was nice to get offshore
again. There were some bigeye tuna caught around us but it wasn't our
turn I guess.

Blues on Poppers

Went out today with Dustin Laricks. We went out despite the rain and
caught several nice sized bluefish on jigs and poppers. The fish are
still here and chewing. The surface bite has been getting better and
better.

Captain Joe Hughes
IGFA Certified
Jersey Cape Guide Service
www.gibsonstackle.com
609-827-3442

Patience Pays Off

Fished with Mike S and his son Mike this morning. We started off with
clams for stripers but ended up catching a 12 pound sandshark. We
switched things up and swtched over to lures on the tide change. The
bluefish showed up and cooperated hitting both poppers and soft
plastics. We ended up releasing over 30 fish. Lots of double headers.
It was fast and furious for a while.

Topwater Blitz

Fished solo tonight in an effort to scout around for the weekend.
After a slow start I came across some birds working along the sod
bank. I knew I was in for a treat. My first cast got slammed before I
even closed the bail on the spinning reel by a bluefish that crushed
my popper. Every cast after that one was either rewarded by a hooked
fish or multiple bites. I had nonstop action for over an hour and a
half...all on poppers! Without moving. Great visual bites. I had
three separate occasions where I hooked two blues on the same popper,
one on each hook. I switched over to the flyrod and lost count of the
fish caught. The blues were mostly 2-5 pounds but I had one that was
an honest 7 pounds. Nice sized for the bay. I also caught three
stripers including my first of the year on a popper and two on the
flyrod. The action continued after sunset and only subsided when it
was completely dark.

Southwest Coming on Strong

Got out this morning before the wind really came on. Left at sunrise
with Mike S. and his son Mike. Mike Jr. caught his first fish of the
year. It was a nice bluefish caught on a jig. We had a few other blues
and little Mike also had a nice fluke that we released. The wind
really got ridiculous around 9 am and we called it a day.

Tricky Bites and Subtle Takes

Fished today with John S. and Dusty. The bluefish cooperated and we
landed several on jigs and soft plastics. The bite was tricky but once
the soft bites were figured out the fish bent the rods.

The Mayhem Continues...

Chase K. had consistent action on the flyrod today bagging over a
dozen bluefish on the fly. The outgoing tide was key. Chase brought
his daughter Stephanie and she caught her first bluefish followed by
several others. The action continues to be good and it's nice to
participate in the consistent action that springtime often provides.

Bluefish in Waves

It was fast and furious today at times fishing with Joe and Matt C.
Joe bailed bluefish consistently all day on the flyrod and Matt batted
clean up with a spinning rod catching most of his fish later in the
tide. We had a steady pick of fish the entire tide from 2-4 pounds.
The flyrod really shined and even outfished the jig for the first part
of the tide. Great day. Now is the time for great action on the long
rod.