Fresh Stone Harbor Fishing Reports

I got an invite from Chris last night to tag along out front for some flounder and anything else we could find. I wasn't really sure what to expect given the crappy weather we've had over the last few days. But, you can't catch them if you don't go. We left the marina shortly after 7am and cruised out a good distance. We checked out so.e secret squirrel stuff we did and it looks like it will be doing well in the very near future. We tried a wreck while out there, but it was covered in sea bass. Unfortunately seabass season is now closed. So, we worked the wreck over and decided we had wasted enough gulp and other baits on the bass, we needed flounder. As we headed toward one of the reefs we had a good sized tuna explode in fro t of Chris's boat. Never expected to see that. The water was quite blue, but only 68-69 degrees. Chris had three big marks streak across the sounder down to 40 feet then shoot off. There were loads of storm petrels and Jaeger birds out there too. Jaegers are fun to mess with. We poked around d for the tuna, but no luck. As we raced off for the reef we came across two large sea turtles, one had a tern sitting on its shell. That was cool. Then we passed a big stick floating and decided we should check it out. As we approached we discovered there was a cobia floating along beneath it. We rigged up eels to throw at it, but the cobia vanished. We arrived at the reef and set up a drift iver so.e rubble. I got the first keeper, just slightly over 17". We had a steady pick at short and keeper flounder each drift. We moved around finding new rubble to try and it always paid off. We each had our over and one slot as the clock was ticking down. We each pulled up over fish that we of course released. That is painful, not gonna lie. Finally, on the final two drifts of the day, we each landed our final slot fish to get our limits. It felt good. We tossed a lot of shorts back, a few overs, and some that were just too damn close to call. Not to mention some nice sea bass. But, regs are regs. It was an epic day out of the water. The sky was gorgeous, with big puffy clouds, and blue as could be. We ran home triumphant knowing we'd be eating well. I'm gonna have Lisa make her killer flounder milanese. If you haven't tried it, you are depriving yourself. Put it on your hit list! Tight Lines!

Had a fun day out of the reef with Mike and Kyle today. We drifted over wrecks and a lot of rubble. We found a massive school of small weakies. We caught two and left them alone. Got one big sea robin, which volunteered to be bait. Landed a stray sea bass. And caught a bunch of short flounder and three nice keepers. You couldn't have asked for a nicer day. Calm seas, lite breeze, and clear water. There were big schools of bait cruising around, but nothing on them. The drifts were nice and slow, though changeable at times. Everything we caught was tight on structure, big and small. Subsequent drifts over the same areas rarely yielded another fish. Didn't make sense. The water is warming up, so things out on the reefs and lumps should really begin to light up. Can't wait to see what will show up. Tight Lines!

Spent Father's day morning out on the reef and wrecks with Jesse and his father, Rod. We set up on various wrecks and drifted over structure in hopes of catching some flounder and sea bass. Our first spot had a huge school of fish hovering over the structure. When we dropped down out baits were immediately attacked. Jesse and I pulled up a weakfish each. Then the school moved on and vanished. We continued to work over the wreck and pick at little sea bass. So many were just shy of the 12.5" limit. Or close enough it wasn't worth risking a bad measurement. Jesse pulled two keepers from out of the structure. The bite was fairly slow overall, so we moved out into the rubble field. We picked at some short flounder, and finally Jesse landed a nice 19.5" keeper. Again, hlthe bite was slow, so we decided to go find some wrecks elsewhere. We got to the next wreck only to have another boat move in on us. The guy explained that he had landed several sea bass here the day before and wanted to try again. Yeah, that excuses your intrusive behavior. So, we drifted around him and finally spot locked over a pile of sea bass. He moved off. We worked it over and then went to the next wreck. On out final approach over the new wreck, we dropped our lines to see what we might find prior to setting spot lock. My rod got hammered! I thought I caught a big flounder by the way this fish was fighting. Instead, I landed my personal beat sea bass. It was 19". Biggest I ever caught! Not much else on this wreck, but we picked a few more sea bass. I got a big tog too. I wish they were still in season... Our final stop of the day was occupied by another boat who was trying to hold his position with his outboards. He was struggling. The wind had come up quite a bit. We moved in and onto the structure. He took off. Guess we offended him. Not like there is much courtesy on the water anymore. He must've caught them all before we got there. I got a dink flounder and one sea bass. It was enough to put me ahead of Jesse in the fish count. So all was good in the world again. We called it a day. And a fun day it was! Happy Father's Day dad! And to all the dads out there. Tight Lines!

Had a fun night out last night with Jesse, his kids, Alyssa and Collin, and his dad, Rod. We ran the bridge circuit in hopes of finding something. Given the dismal reports as of late, we didn't have high hopes. Our first stop of the night was all ours. The water looked a bit stained from the wind that howled all day. There were signs of bait and some tasty looking rips along the structure. We worked the shadow lines on the up and down current sides. Finally I had a feisty striper inhale my jig. After a spirited battle I landed and released the fat 22 incher. Of course I forgot to snap a pic... The next two stops were devoid of all signs of life. But the fourth held promise. As we were setting up, a gentleman who was already there hooked up. He had a terrific battle before the big blue bit him off. Good sign! Jesse hooked into a nice blue, but was also bitten off as he tried to land it. They are rather toothy. Shortly thereafter he landed another, and then Rod hauled one in. They were kept for beach baits. Collin and I both missed our opportunities. The next area was quiet. The final stop looked fishy. I missed a solid hit in a shadow. And then Rod got hammered in the same spot, but came unbuttoned too. At this point it was getting late. We figured we'd try one more spot, but couldn't agree on where to go. So, Jesse and his group tried an easy spot I recommended, while I went off to check out some other areas. They landed a short flounder. I found cruising dogsharks. They were everywhere! They are fun to watch swim at least, but are harbingers of poor fishing. For whatever reason, when doggies are cruising, fishing is slow. So, I called it a night. Had a blast hanging out with Jesse and his crew. Just wish the fish had been more willing... Tight Lines!

What a fun weekend! Saturday I had Mark and his family out in the back bays to chase after some flounder. We discover, maybe a little to late, that pink was the hot color. But we ended up with four nice keepers for the table, and a bunch of throw backs. Little Marion was the star of the show. She reeled in every keeper, and even hooked and landed her own keeper, her first flounder ever. But I think the minnows were her favorite fishies. Had a really fun time out on the water. Sunday was more of the same. I had Matthew and his boys out for so.e sea bass and flounder action. We ran out to the reef and set up on a wreck. The first stop was mostly shorts, but my dude was hammering the big fish. His first was a keeper sized tog, which unfortunately are out of season. Next he hauled up a 20" flounder. Then another big tog. The other guys pulled in some shorty sea bass and empty hooks. They had a few good tussle with the wreck too. Once things slowed up we moved to the next wreck. Not much action, but it gave up a keeper sea bass. About this time there were a few feeling a bit sea sick, so we ran back inside. First drift they landed another 20" flounder. Than a little later a short flounder. Overall it was a good day with solid action. I wanted to drift for flounder on the reef, but the sea sick cases took precedence. So, it was a great weekend d of fishing! And it should only get better. Tight Lines!

Well, I was supposed to have a fishing trip today, but they switched to next weekend due to the incoming weather. Not wanting to miss a chance to get out on the water, I called Andy. He was up for the challenge. We met at the ramp at 5am. The conditions were decent; glassy water, slow current (considering it was a Full Moon), just nice overall. We set off and hit the first area. No takers there. We ran a little ways and hit our second spot, again, no luck. Starting to second guess my choices, we ran to a normally productive creek. We had the creek all to ourselves. Around this time we noticed a huge wall of fog out over the ocean. And the breeze was beginning to freshen. Andy nailed two flounder on our first drift, a keeper, and a short. On the next drift he got another. And then another. Around this time the forecasted fog rolled in on top of us. We were socked in. Finally, I got a shorty, and then on the next drift I nailed the biggest flounder of the day. It measured in at 21". No doormat, but perfect for the table. Shortly after, the fog began to clear. Andy continued to hammer the shorts, and then put his solecond keeper in the box. The creek proved to be a solid choice as we has at least one fish each drift. We pulled three keepers out of it too. But, like always, all good things must come to an end. The tide slacked out and turned. Around this time the wind really began to crank up. What started off as a nice day became a battle against 30mph wind and white caps. We tried a long drift using the trolling motor to keep us moving and on track, but to no avail. Andy managed to snag two more shorties though. I decided to pull up into another creek to try and get out of the wicked wind. While up in the creek we were protected from the winds assault, but the bite was considerably slower. As we neared the end of our drift I hooked the final keeper of the day. We each ended up with an over and a slot for the dinner table. We decided to call it a day after our second drift without a touch down the creek. We ran back toward the ramp with the wind tailing us. We decided to try a few more drifts, but the bite was over. We pulled up to the ramp and hauled out. I'm not gonna lie, 5am starts are tough, but it paid off today allowing us to beat the weather. It was a fun day! Might have to go again tomorrow. Just not so early... Tight Lines!