SHRIMPIN BONEFISH

Its been so hardwired into our heads that bonefish must be caught on a fly rod, and while of course bonefish are truly a spectacular battle on the long rod, many overlook the fact that you can always catch them on regular ol’ shrimp baits. On a recent trip down to Islamorada, I hopped on […]

Its been so hardwired into our heads that bonefish must be caught on a fly rod, and while of course bonefish are truly a spectacular battle on the long rod, many overlook the fact that you can always catch them on regular ol’ shrimp baits.On a recent trip down to Islamorada, I hopped on Bud ‘N Mary’s marina owner Richard Stanczyk’s skiff and we sped out into Florida Bay to try and find some bones.Stancyzk was set up with some medium action 7-foot Star spinning rods matched with Shimano Stradic 4000 reels, spooled with 30-pound Power Pro. A 3/8 ounce egg sinker, 50-pound Spro Barrel swivel, then 3 foot section of 25-pound fluorocarbon leader to a 3/0 Gamakatsu freshwater wacky worm hook comprised the rig. Stanczyk fixes each hook with one live shrimp threaded through the tail, then a fresh dead shrimp on top for added scent. A five rod spread is sent out to cover all angles off the boat. Drags are set light so when the bone picks up the bait, he makes the run without much resistance, whereas the angler then picks up the rod and simply reels against him, not rearing back to set the hook, but simply reeling down fast and tight as the burning drag sets the hook.During our 2 hour evening session, we went 6 for 8 on bonefish to 7 pounds on the Islamorada flats, plus got to battle a bunch of bonnethead sharks. Using live shrimp is a must to attract bones as Stancyzk believes its not necessarily the scent that brings in the bones, but the clicking of the shrimp retracting its tail that bonefish can feel and follow to find their kill. The fresh dead shrimp on top is the added attractant to make them commit even more to the scent.Shrimping bonefish can be done anywhere on tropical flats from the Bahamas to the Keys and all islands in between. Don’t worry if you can’t cast a fly rod, the shrimp rod will get the job done for bonefish just as well![vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid element_width='6' grid_id='vc_gid:1485876128429-956a0435a2a0f25f6c84919907eacd12-3' include='5741,5740,5739'][/vc_column] " target="_blank">

Endless Summer Continues

Was another successful trip on our charter group aboard the 100′ O-95 out of Oceanside. Started the trip out with a potluck pre boarding on Friday night which consisted of smoked bluefin, BBQ ribs, fried chicken, homemade salsa verde and guac, chocolate chip scones for desert and beer to wash it all down. Boarded the […]

Was another successful trip on our charter group aboard the 100' O-95 out of Oceanside.Started the trip out with a potluck pre boarding on Friday night which consisted of smoked bluefin, BBQ ribs, fried chicken, homemade salsa verde and guac, chocolate chip scones for desert and beer to wash it all down. Boarded the boat at 8:00 and made our way 100 miles south down off Ensenada, where the previous weekend epic bite took place. Was a great vibe, as most everyone already knew each other and we knew the weather was going going to be epic as well! We raffled of all of the donations from TackleDirect, Okuma and Shimano. Chef Josh of the O-95 ended up with the TDBag and super stoked...deck boss Corey not so much as you can see by the picture. Everyone got a YFT keychain and they were a hit.Arrived to the grounds right at gray light and deployed the feathers right away, without another boat in sight. Chowed down on our breakfast burritos and coffee while waiting to hear the ZZZZZZ.....but it didn't happen. Spotted porpoise working bait so worked our way through them and ended up getting hit on one of the feathers for a nice yellowfin, but no conversion. Played that game for a couple more passes, before deciding we just weren't going to put a score together with that school. So off we went and spotted another a breazer patch in the distance. Slid in and threw the kitchen sink at them, but they were keyed in on the bait they already had balled up, so off again.Water was a bit off color and cooler, so captain pointed the bow west, where there were some reports of fish from some other boats. We were about 5 miles from the break we needed to hit, so fast trolled our way in that direction and ended up getting hit about a mile short on a triple skipjack bite. Captain comes over PA and says don't fish this spot, pull all lines in, we have a kelp about 1/2 mile out that we are going to hit. Turns out that's was THE kelp and we would sit on that until we limited out on the yellowfin. Our bait was weak, which was frustrating since we were site fishing flying yellowfin and skipjack, but if you couldn't get a bait away from the boat it did no good. So we had to work at switching out constantly to get that 1 out of 10 that would run away and then get inhaled. I switched over to Daiwa Saltiga SK jig once I had a few bait fish under my belt and that worked well, especially at getting under the skipjack and to the yellowfin. Soon I was playing catch and release. Did try to get them to go on the Coltsniper stick bait, but they weren't liking it. So stuck with the iron and an occasional bait when I wanted to be lazy.After about 1.5 hours we had boat limits of yellowfin, so was time to look for dorado and yellowtail on other kelps. Headed NW and the crew was up with stabilizers looking for kelp. We did this for the rest of the day and just about every kelp we hit we would pull off a few dorado and the yellowfin would fill in, which we had to catch and release. The dorado DID like the Coltsniper like last weekend, so there were many aerial displays of dodos crashing that lure. Best one was when I casted about 20 yards from the kelp, gave it one twitch and from right under the kelp you could see a 'V' in the water shoot out at 30 mph and explode on sniper.....Unreal! The last kelp of the day was something out of National Geographic with free swimming yellowfin, dorado, yellowtail and skipjack all competing to inhale whatever hit the water. So awesome. Then it was time to relax, tend to our war wounds (popper hook in the finger spit from a thrashing dorado doesn't feel good) and have our victory drinks....again.SoCal fishing at its finest yet again and the endless summer continues. Tight Lines![vc_row][/vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid style='load-more' element_width='6' grid_id='vc_gid:1539708147367-325ac05abc33e527f25d6e2db3be40bf-3' include='5730,5729,5727,5726,5728,5725'][/vc_column]" target="_blank">

SoCal Fishing at its Finest

Had a pre-paid trip out of H&M landing that was waiting to be used and I saw the opening on the LEGEND and took it, knowing the fishing has been good and the weather even better. It’s been a while since I’ve sent out a report to the group, since fishing has been ho-hum on […]

Had a pre-paid trip out of H&M landing that was waiting to be used and I saw the opening on the LEGEND and took it, knowing the fishing has been good and the weather even better.It's been a while since I've sent out a report to the group, since fishing has been ho-hum on the trip taken this year. This one was different and special since the rest of the country seems to be well into the change of season (= fishing no more) and we're only getting warmer. Had a pre-paid trip out of H&M landing that was waiting to be used and I saw the opening on the LEGEND and took it, knowing the fishing has been good and the weather even better.Left out of port on Friday night to the sites of lightning, but we knew it was moving fast and would be smooth seas by day break. Made the steam down 75 miles outside of Ensenada and cut the engines about an hour before gray light in the zone. Threw out the trollers as soon as there was enough light, ready for battle. Within half an hour we got called in by another boat who told us to slide into their school. We didn't make it to them as the cedar plug got inhaled and it was game one, yellowfin on. Threw bait and the water exploded into a washing machine.....we sat on that school until we were limited out (5 per person in MX). It was so on fire, I was catch and release most of the drift. After my first couple bait fish I changed over to top water plugs exclusively, since that's the most fun watching fish explode on your bait.At 9:00 we were done, had boat limits..... so now what? Head west and look for kelp, time for dorado and yellowtail. Kept the trollers in just in case we ran into one of the schools of bigeye that have been around, but every stop was just more yellowfin. How sad is that. The kelp were not abundant, but we would find one about every hour and most were holding fish. Those of us on the bow throwing jigs were usually bit first and would pull the big dorado out and then then the bait guys would slide in and pull up free swimmers or pick up the pesky yellowfin and skipjack. I was fishing the colt sniper stick bait exclusively, which was perfectly for my OTI Tuna Sniper paired with my Shimano Saragosa which could cast for a mile and that was hammering them. Everyone else was throwing iron and was jealous since I would end up snaking their fish with the sniper. It was awesome...until the dreaded tip wrap snap on the cast and that pour lure just kept on flying and eventually sank to Davey's Locker. I cried. Then had to switch over to the colt sniper iron, which did well, but just wasn't the same.Towards sunset, the guy in the crow's nest yells out 'Mother Load' ... he sees a kelp the size of a house in the distance. We slide in and captn comes on the PA and yells 'Holy Shit, we're all screwed' because his meter lit up. Just then every line in the water was bit...Chaos ensues on a wide open yellowtail bite that wouldn't stop. We limited out on boat limits of yellowtail on that one kelp. Then it was done.....We had officially limited out on three species, yellowfin, dorado and yellowtail. Was time for our steak dinner and a cold beer and a shot of whisky...we had won!I went home with my limits of each and estimate I did catch a release on three more limits. Just short of epic Fall fishing. Best thing about it....I'm out on another private charter this coming Friday night, which has been in the works for months and will have giveaways from TackleDirect, Pelagic, Shimano, Okuma/Savage and Rhino Cases.Tight lines - Travis[vc_row][/vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid style='load-more' element_width='6' grid_id='vc_gid:1539708147367-325ac05abc33e527f25d6e2db3be40bf-3' include='5709,5708,5706,5705'][/vc_column]" target="_blank">

GO BIG FOR SEA BASS

Black sea bass season reopened in New Jersey on October 8th to October 31 with a 12.5-inch minimum size and 10 fish bag limit, then it amps up to an even better scenario from November 1st to December 31st with a 15 fish bag at 13-inch minimum size. That means you’ve gotta break out the […]

Black sea bass season reopened in New Jersey on October 8th to October 31 with a 12.5-inch minimum size and 10 fish bag limit, then it amps up to an even better scenario from November 1st to December 31st with a 15 fish bag at 13-inch minimum size.That means you’ve gotta break out the big stuff and go for the gusto to target the largest of sea bass as they are still hanging quite far inshore and before the stocks get picked clean. Most fish right now are hanging in the 65 to 100 foot depths, but the schools will progressively migrate outward to deeper waters once the water temperatures start to drop.Proficient anglers hitting 1 to 8 mile wrecks, rockpiles and reefs are scoring their limits at the moment, but have to weed through a ton of short fish to hang a keeper. To better maximize your time to fill the cooler, drop down the big stuff to target only the larger fish. Larger hooks such as 3/0 to 4/0 Baitholder hooks lanced with larger baits such as whole clam tongues, 4 to 5-inch bergall strips, and Berkley Gulp 6-inch grubs will get committed attention from large humpbacks while smaller fish will just nip at the baits.Jigs garner strikes from knucklehead bass big time as a variety of choices abound including 3-ounce Mustad Big Eye bucktails, Hammered Diamond jigs, Ava 47 to 87 jigs, and 1 to 6-ounce Spro bucktails. Tip each bucktail with a strip bait of bergall, mackerel of Berkley Gulp! 6 inch grubtail in pink or white. Bounce jigs on the bottom, tapping them in small little lifts to get struck by bigger bass. Jigs can be reeled up slowly 5 to 10 feet, then dropped back down to the seafloor. On all lure rigs, always tie a dropper loop with teaser of a 3/0 bucktail hair hook tipped with Berkley Gulp Grub roughly 24 inches above the jig.Either with bait or via jig, now’s the time to scale up to land big sea biscuits while they are easily reachable inshore.[vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid element_width='6' grid_id='vc_gid:1485876128429-956a0435a2a0f25f6c84919907eacd12-3' include='5695,5694'][/vc_column] " target="_blank">

JERSEY TARPON

No, Jersey anglers do not get to battle 100-pound giant tarpon on a daily basis like Floridian anglers are lucky enough to do, but we do have high-flyin’ little scrappers that look just like their tarpon cousins in the form of hickory shad. Generally, hickory shad grow in size are from a half pound to […]

No, Jersey anglers do not get to battle 100-pound giant tarpon on a daily basis like Floridian anglers are lucky enough to do, but we do have high-flyin’ little scrappers that look just like their tarpon cousins in the form of hickory shad.Generally, hickory shad grow in size are from a half pound to 2 pounds, but what they lack in body weight, they make up for in aerial antics for light tackle enthusiasts. Hickory shad can be caught from the backwaters, inlets and into the surf. They mainly feed upon small baitfish such as juvenile fry, rainfish and sand eels and will readily hit any feather or small metals presented to them.Set up with a light St. Croix Tidemaster TIS76MF rod matched with a Shimano Stradic 5000 class reel. Spool up with 12-pound Power Pro braid or Yo-Zuri Hybrid monofilament line. Tie on a 50-pound Spro Barrel swivel, then a 30-inch section of 20-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader to which a dropper loop is tied 16 inches down then a small Ava 007 metal on the business end. On the dropper, go with a size 1/0 bucktail hair teaser or Felmlee eel rigged with a 1/0 hook. Usually, hickory shad congregate around docks on outgoing tides, or in the surf during low light hours at sunrise and sunset.Action can be fast and furious as shad will move through by the hundreds, striking feathers, metals and even flies with reckless abandon. Once hooked, hickory shad with vault into the air sometimes 2 to 3 feet or more shaking their heads as they try to throw the hook. They definitely put on a little tussle on light tackle and the larger shad will even burn a drag.When I get into a large school, I generally put the spinning tackle down and pick up the longrod to wave a small Clouser minnow to have some fun with the scrappy battlers. This fall, keep an eye out for the shad boiling on the water surface and jumping out of the waters as they pounce on bait. Lay claim to your Jersey Tarpon![vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid element_width='6' grid_id='vc_gid:1485876128429-956a0435a2a0f25f6c84919907eacd12-3' include='5686,5684'][/vc_column] " target="_blank">

ISLAMORADA BRIDGE SNOOKIN

I just returned from Islamorada in the Florida Keys, and snook are on the prowl. Captain Max Gaspeny www.captmaxgaspeny.com out of Bud N’ Mary’s Marina and I snuck out to hit the local bridges for an hour trip to see if we couldn’t land a few linesiders of our own, and the grounds did not […]

I just returned from Islamorada in the Florida Keys, and snook are on the prowl.Captain Max Gaspeny www.captmaxgaspeny.com out of Bud N’ Mary’s Marina and I snuck out to hit the local bridges for an hour trip to see if we couldn’t land a few linesiders of our own, and the grounds did not disappoint. Gaspeny found an edge on one of the channel bridges and deployed the anchor.On his boat, we employed 7-foot Shimano Teramar and Ugly Stik Tiger spinning rods, Daiwa BG 4000 and Penn 5500 Spinfisher V series reels spooled with 30-pound Power Pro. A 40-pound Seaguar Fluorocarbon leader was fixed to a size 2/0 Gamaktasu Octopus hook.With pilchards Gaspeny castnetted a few hours prior, we hooked one through the nostrils and cast out close to the bridge abutments. As the first pilchard was sent out, it wasn’t but a split second before the line betrayed itself and went tight straight vertical under the boat. Max picked up the rod and reeled swiftly to get bent big time, battling a sweet slot 32-inch snook to boatside. Snook were crashing the pilchard baits on the surface nearly every other cast. Freelined baits drift over the shallows next to the rock rubble, but when the current is ripping, we had to affix a 3/8 ounce egg sinker above the leader to get it down deeper into the zone.Baits are freespooled back with a slack line to funnel between the bridge abutment outflow and inflows as snook lay in wait to inhale pichards wafting on by. If the line catches up and comes tight, reel up and make another cast. We fought off a mess of boxer mangrove snappers that inhaled the pilchard baits that were way to big to fit in their mouths, but nonetheless, they were a blast and taste great on the grill. Snook fishing exists year round along the Keys bridges, but now its heading into prime time season. It’s a solid time to visit Islamorada. Go get your snook on![vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid element_width='6' grid_id='vc_gid:1485876128429-956a0435a2a0f25f6c84919907eacd12-3' include='5672,5674'][/vc_column] " target="_blank">