Six Pound Fluke

Fished yesterday with Anita and friends. We started out sharking but there was absolutely no drift so we changed gears. We headed into the bay for some fluke fishing and we found them biting. The fish of the day was a six pound, 24" fluke and that was closely followed by a 23" fluke that was around five pounds. We also released a bunch of shorts. It was a beautiful day on the bay and everywhere else. Pro Tip: Fluke are sight feeders so water visibility is important. Sometimes success is a result of finding the cleanest water around. The water clarity is not always the same everywhere in the bay.

Striper Tides

Roy, Brady, and I headed out at sunset for some stripers last night. We had one nice striper right a dark.

Back Bay Fluke

Brady, Ryan, Roy, and I hit the back bay for some fluke. Fishing was good despite the wind.

The Sharks are Here

Ryan and I headed out today to scout for some inshore sharks. We found them in their usual haunts. It was a quick trip and we released a few before heading in.

Keeper Fluke

Fished yesterday with Bob, Kathy, Reed, and Heath in the bay. We caught two keeper fluke to 21" and released a bunch of shorts. We had a bunch of fun. Thankfully the wind finally slowed down. Pro Tip: Braid has much less stretch than mono and is a much better choice for bottom fishing. This allows for much better feel.

Fluke

Fished with Rick, Danielle, Chase, and Mia in the bay on Saturday. We started out catching fluke. By special request, we changed gears and caught Chase a big sand shark. After that we went back to catching flounder. We ended up with one keeper fluke. Pro Tip: In windy conditions, look for places where the wind is perpendicular to the current. Then use your engine in reverse to negate the wind. This will give you the best possible drift.

Four Keeper Fluke

Fished Thursday with Steve and Tim in the bay. We caught a bunch of fluke. We had four keeper fluke to 21" and a bunch of throwbacks. Pro Tip: Sometimes fluke want an actively moving jig and sometimes they want a still rod tip. Experiment with both techniques to see which one works better on a given day.

Back Bay Mixed Bag

Fished today with Jim and Dave. We started out catching some sand sharks. They weren't as big as the other day so we quickly changed gears. We hit the flats and found some blues and stripers. We caught them on jigs and Jim caught a few on the flyrod. We switched gears again and chased the fluke around. We had three keeper fluke to 21" plus several shorts. The weather was beautiful and it was a great day. Pro Tip: When throwing jigs in shallow water, keep your rod tip high when you retrieve. This allows the jig to run higher in the water column and makes it less likely to foul on seaweed.

Big Sand Sharks

Fished with Kevin and Zack yesterday in the bay. The wind had really come up and the fluke bite was off for us so we switched gears. The guys wanted to catch some of the big sand sharks that are in the bay this time of year so that's what we did. The biggest ones were over twenty pounds. Pro Tip: The less glamorous species can be great day savers and lots of fun. In addition, they can provide a low risk practice session for important skills. We practiced using circle hooks with these fish. The skills we used are the same ones that we use hooking while marlin in the canyons. Just a lot less pressure.

Back Bay Fluke

Fished last Thursday afternoon with Tanner, Gab, Derek, Kaden, George, and John in the bay. We caught fluke to twenty inches and had one keeper. Pro Tip:  Raise the rod tip slowly when you suspect a fluke bite. Many times they inhale the bait without you realizing it.  If the rod stays loaded there is usually a fish on. Just because the rod is bent doesn't mean he's hooked. Set the hook anyway. 

Joe Hughes

Offshore

John, Dick, and I headed offshore last Saturday. We were looking for some early season tuna. We did catch two micro bluefin tuna. We also jumped off a large mahi and landed a smaller one. Pro Tip: Preset your drags with a scale when pursuing large pelagic fish like tuna or marlin. A general guideline should be a strike drag setting of 20 percent of the line breaking strength. As an example, for 50 pound line the strike drag should be about ten pounds. This is just a guideline and sometimes you may want more drag (such as for large tuna) or less drag (such as for white marlin.)

Blues and Fluke

Fished with Dave and Tom on Friday afternoon. We had immediate action with bluefish on almost every cast for quite a while. We released well over twenty before it quit. We moved on to catch some fluke and we caught two keeper fluke to 20" and released a few shorts. Fishing continued to be good. Pro Tip: When netting fish, only net the fish. Avoid netting other parts of the rig or the weight. Tangling the net wastes time and can cost a fish if you hook a monster while the net is tangled.