Sharks!

Went solo today to see if the inshore sharking bite had begun. It has
and the sharks are here in force. Had a great day releasing 9 dusky
sharks to about 50 pounds. Had two double headers. Got both fish on
the first and went one for two on the second. I also had several other
bites and three breakoffs. The event of the day however was a bigger
shark that hit and swam right to the boat. It didn't even know it was
hooked and I got a real good look at it right next to the boat. It was
grey black on top and bright white on the bottom. Hard edge between
the dark and light. It was a five foot baby great white. Once it
realized it was hooked it gave me the fin and high tailed it outta
there. I did not have a shot with the light spinning rod I was using
and he broke me off. Pretty cool to see though. If you are interested
in big fish during the day and a short ride then inshore sharking is
for you. Catch and release only. Note the bottom two pics. This shark
had fresh bite marks from his buddy during the fight.

Summertime Options

Some cool options for summertime charters. First, nighttime striper
trips are a neat option for the flyrodder. These trips frequently
involve sight fishing under bridges for bass and blues. Inshore
sharking provides a great near shore option for people wanting to pull
on big fish close to shore. We catch brown and dusky sharks on light
spinning rods and on the fly. These sharks range from ten to sixty
pounds on average. Flounder fishing has been fantastic this year with
lots if action. This is a great trip for families. Offshore tuna
action has been good on the troll. The offshore fishing will get
better and better all summer. Flyrodders can target mahi mahi on the
fly on these trips. The action can be great. Stripers should continue
to bite on the high tides at dawn and dusk on poppers. Give me a call
to discuss the possibilities.

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

Tough Evening

Fished last night with Rick M and his two sons. We were flyfishing for
stripers. Despite being excellent casters and fishing a good tide, we
struggled finding cooperative fish. We ended up without a bite all
evening. The heat may have the bass off the feed temporarily. Might
have to chase them at night.

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

Mud Slam

Fished with Dave and family today. We had over thirty flounder with
one keeper. Great action with bent rods. We also had two giant
dogsharks on clams. One of the two sharks was almost five feet. We
rounded out our mud slam with two sea robins and an oystercracker.
Bent rods are a reflection of anglers smiles. We bent a lot of rods
today.

Blues and Fluke

Fished with Betsy M and her grandson Jack. We started out catching
some flounder and moved onto the flats with the tide. We had a pop up
blitz of blues and immediately had a double header on poppers. The
blitz disappeared as fast as it started. We moved to another flat
where we missed three striper bites on poppers. Beautiful evening.

Excellent Fluking

Fished with Julio and Sergio R. We had over a dozen fluke including
this nice four pound fluke.

Father's Day Fluke

Fished with Mike Spaeder and his son Mike. We had four keeper fluke
and over 25 throwbacks. Great way to spend father's day! Fluking is
great.

Yellowfin!

Fished today with Johnny O and Capt. Bernie Walker. Ran the Regulator
80+ miles to the Poormans. Went two for two on decent yellowfins and
had some skipjacks as well. Not afraid of the long ride to catch some
fish. The sushi was great.

Favorite Fishing Partner

Took Dad out for a quick trip this evening. Ended up with two bass and
one bluefish on poppers. We had several other strikes as well. Of
course Dad's fish was bigger than mine.

Flounder Fishing is Excellent

Fished with Peter G and Amy tonight. Normally Peter flyfishes with me
but this afternoon he wanted to relax and catch some fluke. In a
short trip we ended up with two keepers around twenty inches and a
bunch of throwbacks. Now is the time to get out and catch em!

Flats Fishing Continues

Fished today with Darryl and his buddy Sonny. We ended up with one
striper and four blues that we caught and released on poppers and jigs
in the back bay. We also missed a few bites. It was a fun day.

First Fish for Jake

Fished with Vicki, Dan, and little Jake H. Jake is five and wanted to
catch his first fish. So we did. A nice flounder. I also fished later
on in the day with Rich L. We flounder fished. The wind made things
tough but we caught a few keepers and tossed back some throwbacks.

Sightfishing Tailing Stripers

Fished with Joe C and Greg last evening. We had a fantastic
evening. We ended up catching and releasing around a dozen bass and
about a dozen blues...most on the fly. The highlight of the evening
was the happy tailing stripers we had the pleasure of casting to while
they rolled in the grass. We witnessed tailing stripers in inches of
water gorging themselves on the abundant spearing. We were positioned
so we had repeated casts to these tailing fish. This was true
sightfishing for stripers on the flats. A good cast produced a strike.
These conditions lasted almost two straight hours. We had fish on
both clousers and on poppers. What a blast!

Busman's Bonanza

Had the far too rare oppurtunity to fish with my very good friend and
fellow guide, Captain Chris Goldmark. I had told him about the good
fishing I was having and he came up to share in the fun with me. We
strictly flyfished and we had a blast. Our first stop netted us more
than a half dozen blues on clouser minnows. The blues were busting on
the abundant spearing as they have been. When that petered out we made
a move and quickly found more fish. This time the stripers were
busting on the bait. We ended up with seven or eight bass that we
caught and released on clouser minnows plus a few more blues. It was
relaxed fishing with a great friend and busting fish. Plus, I
actually got a chance to stand on the pointy end and be in a picture or
two! When Captain Chris is not catching fish here in south jersey
during the summer he's guiding for bonefish and tarpon on the
beautiful island of Culebra, Puerto Rico in the winter. Check out his
website http://www.culebraflyfishing.com/ .

Stripers and Blues

Fished yesterday with Brandon L and Dennis. Great guys. We found the
fish feasting on spearing as they have been over the last several
days. We started out throwing poppers and caught a few fish. However,
they were so keyed in on the spearing we needed to switch gears and
match the hatch to produce. Started throwing soft plastics and that
was the ticket. We ended up the evening with around 8 stripers that
we released and around a dozen blues to four pounds.

Mini Blitz

Fished with Jay and Luc today. We snuck out on the top of the tide. We
found another mini blitz as the bluefish and bass were busting on
spearing. We caught some blues on poppers amidst the melée. In my hand
is one of the dozens of spearing the blues were puking up. In the top picture you can see a bunch of spearing laying on the deck from the bluefish in the picture.

Spearing Hatch

Fished today with Rick H. We started off our day catching fluke while
we waited for the tide. On the top of the tide I found what I was
looking for. Spearing. The spearing spawn continues in the back. We
had bluefish and stripers crashing spearing along the sod banks. Blues
and bass occasionally would accidentally flip themselves on the grass
and then back into the water. We first caught bluefish on poppers.
The wind made casting difficult so we got out of the boat and made our
casts from shore. I switched to soft plastics when the surface bite
quit. The bite then continued as the plastics matched the hatch
perfectly. We were spin fishing but the conditions were a flyrodder's
dream. We had boiling fish right at our feet. We ended up with several
blues and we missed three bass. The blues were just more aggressive.
I wished I had my video camera!

Tough Tide

Fished yesterday with Tim A and Tiffany T. They wanted to get out one
last time before they returned home. We could not get out for the
prime tide but decided to give it a shot anyway. We wanted to popper
fish so that's what we committed to do. The water was hot (over 80)
and we got blanked. Went out into the ocean to check out some spots
and Tim caught a dogshark on a jig. The incoming tide should be better
today as the inlet was 62 degrees so that water should cool things off.

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

One and Done

Went out to catch dinner with Marie. Caught two shorts and then a nice
20 inch fluke. Reeled em in and went home to enjoy.