Thursday, July 27, 2017

More Sharks

I headed back out yesterday afternoon with John, Johnny, and Nolan for sharks. We found them still biting and released another ten spinner and dusky sharks to about 60 pounds. Pro Tip: Set up your drift to cover the ocean bottom you want to fish. Check the wind and current before deploying your chum bags to make sure you will be drifting over productive water.

4.5 Pound Fluke

Fished with Bob, Todd, and family today in the bay. We released about 24 flounder in four hours. Todd caught the fish of the day when he landed a 22" 4.5 pound fluke. Lots of action in the bay. Fishing continues to be good. Pro Tip: Flounder like a drift that is just right. Too fast and they can't get the bait. Too slow and they aren't interested. How fast is just right? A little less than 1 knot is usually perfect. Control your speed with the engine.

17 Sharks

Fished with Mike and family on Wednesday for sharks. We had a great day releasing 17 spinner and dusky sharks to about 60 pounds. It was fast and furious. Pro Tip: Whenever possible, leave a bait in the water when fighting a fish. You will frequently be rewarded with a double header. Just don't let it interfere with the fish you already have hooked up!

Shark Week

Fished with Bob Cheryl and family on Tuesday for sharks. It is shark week after all. We had a great day releasing about nine spinner, dusky, and brown sharks to about 70 pounds. Fishing has been great. Pro Tip: Keep the left arm straight when fighting big fish. Place the butt of the rod on the upper thigh or lower abdomen. Then rock back and forth using the core and leg muscles. If your arm gets tired or hurts you are doing it wrong.

Shark on the Fly

Fished with Joe on Monday. We headed out into the ocean to catch some sharks. Joe quickly hooked interesting a nice spinner shark on the fly and after a great fight we released it. We also released two other spinner sharks on bait and called it a day. Pro Tip: Strip strike slowly when hooking a shark. Think of it as placing the hook instead of setting it. Too much hookset usually breaks the fish off.

Monday, July 24, 2017

25 Fluke

Fished with Bill and family in the bay. We had consistent action and released about 25 flounder with no keepers. Pro Tip: Fluke or flounder? In north jersey this is a big argument. In south jersey the two are synonymous. We catch summer flounder which are commonly called fluke.

Ocean Fluke

Fished with Jerry and Jean in the ocean on Saturday morning. We had a few flounder and had one keeper. The bay is still accounting for higher numbers of fluke but the fluke are beginning to chew in the ocean on the right days. Pro Tip: Don't be afraid of using large Bucktails in the ocean. Four or six ounce Bucktails are frequently needed to hold bottom and produce a lot of fish.

Sea Isle Sharks

Fished with Nick and family on Friday in the ocean for sharks. Things started out slow but rapidly picked up at the end. We ended up with nine sharks releases to over a hundred pounds. We had brown, dusky, and spinner sharks. Pro Tip: Drag pressure is not a constant thing during a fight. There are times when less drag is desired such as when the fish lunges under the boat. More drag is desirable when a big fish is tired and needs to be moved to the boat at the end of the fight.

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Big Sharks on the Fly

Fished with Mike and Ryah today in the ocean for sharks. We had an epic day releasing around 14 sharks. Most were big and three exceeded the 100 pound mark. Mike caught and released several on the fly. We had some epic bites and the sharks put on an epic visual show. The remainder of the fish were caught in bait. We had brown, dusky, spinner, and sandbar sharks today. It was very very good. Pro Tip: Sink rate is crucial for shark flys to be productive. Neutrally buoyant flys are most productive. Too much weight and you won't get bites.

More Big Sharks

Fished with Eamon and Liv on Wednesday in the ocean for sharks. We released six sharks up to 100 pounds. All but one were big. The sharking has been really good and the average size of the fish has been excellent. Pro Tip: Wind is essential for good shark fishing. Flat calm days are not usually productive.

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

100 Pound Plus Sharks

Fished with Steve, Caleb, and Zack yesterday in the ocean for sharks. We caught and released seven dusky, sandbar, and spinner sharks. Five of the seven were close to over 100 pounds. We have been seeing a lot of sharks around the 100 pound mark. Shark fishing continues to be very good. Pro Tip: Keep your left arm straight when fighting big fish and use your legs and core to fight the fish. If your arms get tired, you are doing it wrong.

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

60 Plus Fluke

Fished with Lucas, Ryan, and friends yesterday in the bay. The fluke bite was on fire and we easily had well over sixty fluke during the trip. The bite was consistently good all day. We did catch one keeper. The action doesn't get any better. Pro Tip: If each angler is using the same amount of weight, tangles will be much less. If different anglers use different weights, the likelihood of tangles goes way up.

Monday, July 17, 2017

Sharks on the Fly

Fished with Mike and Ryan yesterday in the ocean for sharks. The goal was to catch a shark on the fly. We accomplished this five minutes into fishing. We went on to catch and release 14 brown, dusky, and spinner sharks up to 125 pounds. Five were caught on the fly and nine were on bait. Mike had the largest fish of the day with a 125 pound dusky shark on the fly. Pro Tip: Shark bites are visual. You will not feel a bite. You should watch for the fly to disappear and for the fly line to move. Then a slow strip strike will seal the deal.