DOCK SNOOK

Florida’s backwater bay systems hold deep, dock secrets. Nearly every Sunshine State charter captain can claim a backpocket snook spot that holds a favorite piece of plank and piling. Docks are structure points, providing the cover and obstacle needed for snook to hide, ambush and pin prey to be devoured. Standard sights around dock pilings […]

Florida’s backwater bay systems hold deep, dock secrets.Nearly every Sunshine State charter captain can claim a backpocket snook spot that holds a favorite piece of plank and piling. Docks are structure points, providing the cover and obstacle needed for snook to hide, ambush and pin prey to be devoured. Standard sights around dock pilings include mullet schools being crushed as resident snook up to 30 pounds blow up the bait in, around and under the docks. So what are you gonna throw?The key to hooking up is understanding how to target actively feeding snook when they have all the food they need in front of them, aka when mullet are thick as pavement. Commotion is key. Triggering an impulse strike is the best trick to pull out of your bag. Topwater offerings such as the DOA BFL and Yo-Zuri Mag Darters ripped just outside of the pilings garner a reactive strike. If that doesn’t work, go a little deeper under the mullet schools with a 3/8 to ½-ounce Kalin’s leadhead tipped with a 4-inch Bass Assassin, or 5-3/4- inch Fin-s Fish in Arkansas Shiner, Albino Shad or Bubble Gum coloring. That’s daytime fishing. Night shifters working the dock lights under the guise of darkness will switch up to a 3 to 4-inch DOA Shrimp, in gold fleck/white or gray and white patterns and twitch the shrimp bait every two or three cranks of the reel. Casts should try and be skipped underneath the planks into the snook’s lair. Konda like the Bassmaster pros do with largemouths. The deeper you can get under the dock, the better. Night time dock snook fishing can be very precarious as a wizened fish will turn away at any offering after the second or third pass, so make your casts count the first time to put the lure in the strike zone perfectly.When getting in deep under the docks, go with 30 to 50-pound class Power Pro braided running line, and employ the use of a heavier 30 to 50-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon shock leader with a 75-pound class Tactical Anglers Clip to the lure. A hooked, jumping snook will tangle you within the pilings and cut lines with their serrated gill plates on any leader less than 30-pound test so you need utmost pulling power and abrasion resistance to beat the brawny beast.[vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid element_width='6' grid_id='vc_gid:1485876128429-956a0435a2a0f25f6c84919907eacd12-3' include='6051,6048'][/vc_column]" target="_blank">

ICE OUT PIKE

Winter is clearly in our rear view mirror now, and as lakes and reservoirs around the state lose their final coverings of hardwater, northern pike get on the prowl for their spring spawn. There’s no finer time to target pike as live baiting can lay claim to double digit catches on good days. Starting in […]

Winter is clearly in our rear view mirror now, and as lakes and reservoirs around the state lose their final coverings of hardwater, northern pike get on the prowl for their spring spawn.There’s no finer time to target pike as live baiting can lay claim to double digit catches on good days. Starting in late March and early April, I’m hitting central and northern NJ reservoirs in search of water wolves. A two rod set up is used from the shore, four rods if casting from a boat with a buddy.Generally 7-1/2 foot Shimano Teramar rods rated for 8 to 20-pound matched with Shimano Stradic 5000 spooled with 30-pound Power Pro green braid fit the bill. Two rigs work best for pike, both of which are baited with live or dead shiners. A bottom rig consists of a 1-ounce egg sinker slid on the braid line, a 100-pound Spro Barrel swivel, then a 26-inch section of 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader to which a size #2 Gamakatsu Octopus hook is snelled on.Dead Shiner or herring baits seem to work better on the bottom rig. The float rig revolves around a slip float bobber which is used to accurately set the bait down at a measurable, consistent depth. Thread the slip float bobber on the braided line then tie on a 50-pound Spro Barrel Swivel from which a 30-inch section of 40-pound Seaguar Fluorocarbon and same #2 Octopus hook is tied on. The key to the bobber’s success is in sliding off the fluorescent thread on top of the slip float onto the braided line, say around 4 feet above the bobber, where both tag ends are pulled tight to cinch the knot onto the braided line. Trim the excess tag ends.Now when casted, the slip float will slide to that preset 4 foot depth, presenting the shiner at the desired depth where you believe pike are staging at. You can slide the knot up and down the line accordingly to change the set depth. Plan your outings during the sunrise hours as the pike bite is usually a morning endeavor up until around 10 AM.Pike fishing in the spring is an absolute blast on the lighter tackle. Target shallower coves where they tend to congregate to warm up in the sunshine. Release what you catch as pike are really bony and are more of a hassle to cook than they are worth. [vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid element_width='6' grid_id='vc_gid:1485876128429-956a0435a2a0f25f6c84919907eacd12-3' include='6039,6038'][/vc_column]" target="_blank">

EARLY TIDAL RIVER STRIPERS

The backwater bass season has now reopened as of March 1st, and a mild winter season may mean one heck of a spring striper fishery as bass are already biting ahead of schedule. Water temps in Jersey’s backwaters are bumping around between 36 to 44 degrees, cold for sure, but believe it or not striped […]

The backwater bass season has now reopened as of March 1st, and a mild winter season may mean one heck of a spring striper fishery as bass are already biting ahead of schedule.Water temps in Jersey’s backwaters are bumping around between 36 to 44 degrees, cold for sure, but believe it or not striped bass have been hitting in the tidal rivers all through the winter as white perch anglers have been hooking them inadvertently. Tidal creeks that empty into the shallow bays are prime time locations to find bass on the feed, albeit most of the bass caught in the months of March and early April will be in the 20 to 27-inch range. Hot areas include the Mullica River, Maurice River, Toms River, and Great Egg River systems.Light tackle gear provides a fun fight on the scrappy stripers. Match up a 6-1/2 to 7-foot St. Croix Tidemaster rod rated for 8 to 14-pound with a Shimano 4000 Stradic reel, spooled with 20-pound Power Pro braid.Baits work best in the cold water including bloodworms, sandworms and bits of clam. Rigs that work most always include small floats to keep the worm baits off the bay bottom and fluttering around in the water column as an unearthed worm might present itself.A hi-lo float rig tied with 30-pound test monofilament and two dropper loops each fixed with a small half inch pill float and a size #1 to 1/0 Sproat or long shank Baitholder hook work well to hold the long worm bait secure to the hook. Thread a half or whole worm on the hook shank, leaving the back end of it fluttering off from the bend in the hook. The key to success is really to fish during sunrise until 8 AM or at the last of the sunset at dusk into the night hours as the bite usually turns on big time.Already this year, we’ve had 30 fish nights while casting from the sodbanks as stripers seem to come through in waves. Scale down the tackle, grab fresh worm baits and hit the river systems for early season striper fun. [vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid element_width='6' grid_id='vc_gid:1485876128429-956a0435a2a0f25f6c84919907eacd12-3' include='6031,6032'][/vc_column]" target="_blank">

FLOUNDER POUNDING ARSENAL

When you think of a little 1 to 2-pound flatfish, the first thing to cross your mind is that the little creature couldn’t possibly put up a fight, but you’d be wrong. Those chunky flatbacked winter flounder with tiny peanut-sized mouths dish out spirited battles, especially on light tackle outfits which make for some fantastic […]

When you think of a little 1 to 2-pound flatfish, the first thing to cross your mind is that the little creature couldn’t possibly put up a fight, but you’d be wrong.Those chunky flatbacked winter flounder with tiny peanut-sized mouths dish out spirited battles, especially on light tackle outfits which make for some fantastic fun when the New Jersey season opens on March 1st.Prepare your flounder weapons. 6 to 6-1/2-foot rods are prime, such as the St. Croix Avid series VIS66MF, but if you want even more of a challenge and a ridiculous rod bending fight in shallow water, scale down to super light tackle rods like the St. Croix AVS56ULF. Reels can stay light like a Shimano Sedona in the 2500 to 3500 class range. Spool up with 20-pound Power Pro braid, or if using monofilament, go with 6 to 8-pound Trilene XL.When flounder hit with their aggressive tap-punch pokes at the bait, set the hook with a quick snap of the rod. With light tackle, chances are the flounder will stick to the bottom quite literally so you will lift the rod with some vigor to pull him off and out of the mud. Be prepared for the flatfish to actually make some head-shaking runs back to the bottom and away from the boat. I’m not kidding when I say I’ve had flounder pull drag off the reel in their attempt to escape the net.Steady pressure will have the fish come to the surface pretty quickly as you’ll probably be fishing in less than 15 feet of water. Scoop ‘em up with the net and get the baits back down immediately as once you get a chew going, it should last for a good 15 or 20 minutes before it turns off. Keep your baits in line with where the slick is flowing. Drop down a few feet down from the chum pot or a good gameplan is to cast way back into the slick, then every minute take a few slow cranks of the reel to cover ground all the way back to the chumpot. This way, you can find the exact distance the flounder are hanging back in the slick. It’s time. Get your flounder pound on. [vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid element_width='6' grid_id='vc_gid:1485876128429-956a0435a2a0f25f6c84919907eacd12-3' include='5999,6000'][/vc_column]" target="_blank">

TARPON ON TOP

This past week I joined Patrick Sebile and a few friends to fish with Captain Tim Simos in the swirling rips of the Fort Pierce, Florida Power Plant to try for tarpon up top. Anyone who’s fished for tarpon understand it’s a battle you lose often. Thrashing, high flying head shakes throw hooks like they’re […]

This past week I joined Patrick Sebile and a few friends to fish with Captain Tim Simos in the swirling rips of the Fort Pierce, Florida Power Plant to try for tarpon up top.Anyone who’s fished for tarpon understand it’s a battle you lose often. Thrashing, high flying head shakes throw hooks like they’re kid’s toys, usually leaving the angler with a slack line and no fish. Hundreds of Megalops Atlanticus were rainbowing out of the water, gasping breathfuls of air as we broke out some topwater tackle to tempt a strike.Sebile tossed out an Ocean Born Flying Popper to chug across the water’s surface, while also slowing it down to utilize the unique design to swim it like a darting plug. It wasn’t long before a 60-pound poon whacked at it for a solid hookset. Going back to one of my favorite tarpon offerings, I tied on a SpoolTek 6-inch shad to drag just under the water surface and it didn’t take but three casts before I came tight.The innovative design of the SpoolTek hook release system allows for the back half of the lure to pop off and a free-leader hook direct tight connection with the poon’s jaw, meaning they have a way tougher time throwing the hook with the leverage of the lure weight now gone. Both the 6 and 9-inch SpoolTek shads were harassed with reckless abandon from tarpon that ranged from 50 to 130 pounds.A key to getting tarpon to strike in the top of the water column is to work the popper or shad slowly, giving the poon enough time to hone in on it while it opens its vacuous mouth to slurp the bait down. Both the Flying Popper and the SpoolTek shads could be cast into the swirling currents and almost stay stationary as the lure design nearly did all the work while the current passed over it making the lure wobble or shad tail swim.Definitely up the ante with a beefy rod and reel size, as a 7-1/2 foot heavy action spinning rod matched with a 8000 class Shimano Saragosa reel spooled with 50-pound Power Pro will help you win the battle. We absolutely lit up the poons on our few hours out, releasing over a dozen and losing a few to their tenacious aerial antics. Tarpon on top is most assuredly a must-do for any adrenaline junkie angler.[vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid element_width='6' grid_id='vc_gid:1485876128429-956a0435a2a0f25f6c84919907eacd12-3' include='5992,5990'][/vc_column]" target="_blank">