ROUGH SEPTEMBER SURF BAITS

Peak hurricane season is upon us, and September’s surf is usually more rough than not on most days. That doesn’t mean you stay at home watching TV, fact is, rough surf in September is perfect time to get bait fishing to intercept the first wave of migrating striped bass and bluefish. Checking my past log […]

Peak hurricane season is upon us, and September’s surf is usually more rough than not on most days.That doesn’t mean you stay at home watching TV, fact is, rough surf in September is perfect time to get bait fishing to intercept the first wave of migrating striped bass and bluefish. Checking my past log books, I’ve had plenty of action in 4 to 6 foot September surf with bluefish to 15 pounds and bass in the 32 to 38-inch range.The churny, washing surf roils up fresh clams from their sand burrows, smashing and crushing the shells to create a chum slick that attracts bass. Baitfish schools such as mullet, bunker and spearing also flail around in the turbulent waters as gamefish pound the disoriented schools. Mullet rigs are perfect to toss out for bluefish in the area, baited with a whole mullet threaded on the thin metal rod, pushed out the anal vent with the double hook poked back on through the end loop. Fresh clam baits also work best here to attract stripers.Set up with a hi-lo type rig, made with 36-inch piece of 40-pound TrikFish leader, a 75-pound Spro barrel swivel, 12 inches down a dropper loop, then another 12 inches down another dropper loop, and down from there an overhand knot to which a 4 to 8-ounce Hatteras or Pyramid style sinker is looped on. Hooks can be Mustad size 5/0 Baitholders.Lance a fresh clam tongue on the line, piercing the ribbons onto the hook over the tongue to lock in the bait. Fresh bunker chunks will attract both blues and bass. A chunk rig consists of a #1 three-way swivel with sinker clip, then a short 20-inch section of 40-pound TrikFish leader and a size 8/0 Gamakatsu Octopus Hook. Bait fishing the rough stuff will most certainly get you the first legit bass or blue from the suds this September. Pick from mullet, clams or bunker, you can’t go wrong.[vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid element_width='6' grid_id='vc_gid:1485876128429-956a0435a2a0f25f6c84919907eacd12-3' include='5664,5663'][/vc_column]" target="_blank">

TROLLING FOR SPEEDSTERS

Jersey continues to enjoy the oddest summer in recent history, as tropical speedsters abound in local nearshore waters. Pelagics in the form of bonito, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, mahi mahi and false albacore are running rampant in the 80 degree waters that extend from right off the beaches out to 10 miles. The easiest way […]

Jersey continues to enjoy the oddest summer in recent history, as tropical speedsters abound in local nearshore waters.Pelagics in the form of bonito, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, mahi mahi and false albacore are running rampant in the 80 degree waters that extend from right off the beaches out to 10 miles. The easiest way to hook up is by dragging feathers, spoons and metals.Light gear trolling outfits work best here. Set up with 7-foot Fin-Nor Tidal Inshore Rods matched with Shimano Torium 20 Reels, spooled with 50-pound Power Pro Braid. Tie on a Sampo Snap Swivel via Palomar knot or offshore knot. Trolling lures usually come pre-fitted with a strong 60 to 80-pound monofilament leader of 4 to 5 feet long, crimped at both ends and you can just clip the lure leader onto the snap swivel.Go with small 3 to 4-inch feathers such as the Williamson Flash Feather in black/purple, Dorado Catcher in Bleeding Dorado or blue/pink colors, and No Alibi Feathers in green/yellow. Size 00 Clark Spoons are also top lures to send back as they sway back and forth in the water column. You may also simply drag metals like Ava A17 jigs, Williamson Gomoku jigs and Deadly Dicks in the spread. Set 3 to 5 rods out and keep your speeds around 5 to 6.5 knots, working over ledge contours, the outskirts of weedlines and around any flotsam and jetsam floating in the water.Once you do get a hookup, keep the engines in gear as many times three or four more hits will come from the school. If you don’t get any other hookups immediately, then pop the engines out of gear, or at least slow them down to reel in the fish. If you do hook up with a dorado, reel it to boatside and keep it in the water as many times the hooked mahi will attract other species to come investigate. Toss a handful of spearing or peanut bunker overboard and begin casting soft baits to see if anything has followed the hooked mahi. Now’s the time to experience tropical action in the Garden State. Get trolling![vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid element_width='6' grid_id='vc_gid:1485876128429-956a0435a2a0f25f6c84919907eacd12-3' include='5657,5655'][/vc_column]" target="_blank">

END OF SEASON FLUKE

As the Jersey fluke season winds down for good on September 22, large and in charge flatties have moved in big time off the coast. This past week I was out to the Axel Carlson reef on the Killer Bea with Brian Keating and we had a five man boat limit by 10 AM, the […]

As the Jersey fluke season winds down for good on September 22, large and in charge flatties have moved in big time off the coast.This past week I was out to the Axel Carlson reef on the Killer Bea with Brian Keating and we had a five man boat limit by 10 AM, the cooler filled to the brim with 4 to 8-pound fish. No doubt, this is the time of year to leave the small stuff at home and simply go big.Two hot rigs produced for us to target fluke with more size and stature. First was a simple 3-ounce Spro Bucktail with a dropper tied 16 inches above, rigged with a size 5/0 Mustad Baitholder hook and lanced with a 6-inch Berkley Gulp! white grub. The leader is made of 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon line and the rig is “tap-danced” off the bottom but can even be dragged so long as you are not fishing around any high relief structure where it can get caught and break off.The second top rig was to drift long 6 to 10-inch fluke belly strips and consisted of a 3-ounce egg sinker, a red bead on the running line, tied to a 130-pound Spro Barrel Swivel, then a 30-inch section of 30-pound Seaguar Fluorocarbon line to which a tandem size 4/0 Octopus hook snelled together the top hook pierced once at the tip of the strip, and the other hook pierced down about 2 inches.The slide rig allows for the fluke belly to undulate enticingly and look natural as it drifts through the water column near the sea floor. With only three weeks left in the Jersey fluke season, its now or never to get your game on and fill the cooler.The 60 to 75 foot depths seem to be holding the bulk of the fish at the moment, but look for them to move even deeper to 80 to 100 feet the further we get into September. Load up that cooler, its gonna be a long wait until the season reopens in May next year![vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid element_width='6' grid_id='vc_gid:1485876128429-956a0435a2a0f25f6c84919907eacd12-3' include='5646,5645'][/vc_column] " target="_blank">