Fresh Stone Harbor Fishing Reports

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!

Hit the back bay yesterday thanks to an invite from Adam. We met at the ramp at 5:30 and ran to our first spot. There were a few other boats in the area. We set our drift and began bouncing our offerings enticingly in hopes that a flounder would inhale them. The wind was against the tide early on which gave us a nice slow drift. We picked at flounder, but it was slow. Actually, to be more accurate, Tom, picked at the flounder. I caught the first dink, my only landed fish of the day. Adam got an oyster cracker, aka mother in law, then later, a small dink flounder. After a few drifts Tom pulled up a nice 19" keeper. We made a move and tried again. Tom landed another keeper at 17.25". We dropped a ton of fish too. We'd get hammered, have the fish on, then poof, gone. Or We'd get one big slam, then nothing. It was a very strange bite. They were also very picky with white being the color of choice. We were mostly using gulp on either bucktails or jigs. We tried bait here and there, but it didn't help. The other limiting factor was the abundance of snot grass. The turn of the tide didn't help either. We covered a lot of water in search of some keepers, but other than the two Tom landed, there were none for us. Talking with other guys on boats and at the ramp, it seems it was an off day all around. Maybe next time... Tight Lines!

Hit the surf today with high hopes given all the reports or striped bass and puppy drum being caught. Hit the sand shortly before six. It was chilly, but the sun was rising and warming things up. I decided not to bring my waders. I figured I'd be a tough guy and just wade out. Not my best choice on the day. Sixty degree water and fifty degree air do not a comfortable situation make. So I made it about knee deep before chickening out. I can cast pretty far, but given the nearly low tide, I was landing around the sandbar. Not being willing to wade through the gully, I just hoped for the best. Yeah, I should have brought the waders... I set up three rods and chased Idgie and Bubbalouie around while waiting for a bite. After a few minutes I noticed the rods were all bent over and slowly creeping down the beach. Never a good sign. I reeled in the first rod and it was covered in snot grass. So, I hauled them all in and just cast one back out after clearing all the snotty gunk. Rather than clam, I threw out some blood worms on a Brown Dog Bomb kingfish rig. I was rewarded with a doggie of meth. The damn thing fought like crazy. Then, once on the sand, proceeded to thrash it's tail about trying to beat me to death. I finally got the cretin under control and got the hook out. I assumed Idgie would give the shark what for, but she thought better of it. So back I tobthe waves it went. That was the only action I had all morning, besides the gobs of slimy grass. The guys on either side of me were having similar luck. And passersby gave me reports from up and down the beach of nothing but doggies being caught. Guess it just wasn't a striper sort of day. Tomorrow is another day. I got an invite to fish on a friend's boat bright and early (5am) for flounder. Hopefully we can find a few keepers. Lisa makes a killer Flounder dish. Milanese? Something like that. However it's spelled, it's awesomely delicious. Fingers crossed... Tight Lines!

Had the pleasure of taking Sean and his crew out for some flounder fishing in the back bay today. As usual the weather apps were just a tad off. It was far colder and the wind was was howling, even though it was forecast to lay out. Yeah, that happened... Given the windy conditions and new Moon tide, I picked my spots carefully to maximize the drift and keep headaches to a minimum. Sean and crew were solid fishermen (and fisherwomen) and they worked the hell out of their flounder rigs. We worked over a variety of areas, utilizing structure, and trying to stay clear of other boats. The plan worked well. We ended up landing five keepers to 20", tossed back two shorts, and missed quite a few. We were hoping to find a few blues and or weakies, but no such luck. On the plus side, no trash fish. Overall a really fun day out on the water, despite the winds best efforts to thwart us. Looking forward to chasing flounder again soon. Tight Lines!