Stripers in the surf!
May 22, 2022 Stone Harbor 1 photo
Bass (Striped)
Bass (Striped)

Trip Summary

This is a tale of two beaches. Saturday I went on the ocean side. I had been hearing of all of these great stripers being caught, along with occasional blues and kingfish. So I grabbed bloodworms, clams, and bunker and hit my spot. I set out three rods, one with each bait. Now I just needed a fish to cruise along and play. The weather on the beach was perfect. It was nice and cool with a slight breeze. The sun was out and the sky was blue. The water however was di gy looking and very green. There was just enough seaweed in the area to be annoying. My first fish of the day was a three foot sandshark. It ate the clam. My second "fish" was a skate that ate my bunker. Not another touch. The guys on either side of me didn't catch anything decent either. Just one of those days. Frustrated and just not feeling it, I called it quits. Walking back over the dunes the sweltering heat came crashing down to smother me. It only got worse as I traveled inland... Sunday I hit the Delaware Bay with Johnnie in tow. Johnnie has been having a bit of a rough patch, so it was nice to get him out and laughing. We set out five rods (I know, overkill). We used the same baits (leftovers). We started at what we thought was dead low, but the tide just kept going out. The horseshoe crabs were a massive pain in the ass. They stole a lot of bait today, and made reeling in tough a few times. We had a few solid hits throughout the morning. The rod would heave over hard and then just go still. It was infuriating. Then, finally, around 11am I set out a fresh clam bait. Shortly after I cast it out it went over hard and began a drag screaming run. A real fish! I pulled the rod out if the spike and palmer the spool to slow the fish and ensure the hook was set. The battle was on. Johnnie pulled in the other rods while I tried to steer the fish away from possible tangles. After a nice fight I guided the striper o to the sand. I grabbed the leader to pull it up and it broke. The 30 pound leader wasn't enough. I quickly jammed a thumb into the stripers mouth to lip it and bring it up for a photo op. Lisa had just arrived with Idgie and Bubbalouie. She took some quick pictures, and the little boy and his dad sitting g near up popped over for a quick picture of the little dude with the bass. She measured out at 40" on the nose. I revived her in the water and she swam off briskly. Earlier in the morning we has a massive school of fish blowing up just beyond casting range. They were moving in, but then just a suddenly they turned and went the opposite way and vanished. Then dolphins came in and put on a show, splashing, porpoising, and jumping. Always fun to watch, but never a welcomed sight while fishing. We continued to fish until around 11:40. We decided to call it a day due to the intensifying heat and lack of bait. We ran back to my place, cleaned up the gear, and parted ways. It was a fun weekend, even if I only landed one fish. It was a load of fun. Tight Lines!
Frank Breakell
Stone-harbor, New Jersey, United States
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Other reports from this charter

Back Bays, surf, it's getting better!
Back Bays, surf, it's getting better!
June 2, 2025
It's been quite the week. It started off with me and my two friends trying to get out for some flounder. We launched the boat, cranked her over, and realized there was no water coming from the engine indicating that it was pumping cooling water through itself. We trouble shot it at the ramp, but no luck. I tried trouble shooting it at home without any luck. I ended up going up to South Jersey Boatworks where Matt took time out of his busy day to swap out the pump. She's working great now. Memorial Day, Andy and I launched for our second attempt at chasing some flounder. Engine fired up and pumped water like a champ. We had some frozen spearing that we wanted to thaw out. Tossed it into the live well and hit the pump switch, dead. Tried the hose, also dead. Went to turn on my electronics and realized my house battery was dead. Great. So, we fished old school. Boat, motor, and gear. No electronics. We had about an hour and a half of incoming tide remaining and the ICW all to ourselves. We drifted along some ledges, got some hits, and missed quite a few. Finally, Andy broke the ice with a fat 20 inch flatty. Shortly after he landed a doggie and a skate. Then the tide slacked. Around this time a dozen boats moved in and joined in on our drift. The outgoing tide excited the bite from the shorties. We pulled in two 16-17" flounder each and missed a bunch more. Most of the boats in the area were catching and releasing short flounder. We saw two keepers taken. All of this during the first hour of the outgoing tide. We tried a few other areas and missed more fish. Called it a day about half way through the tide. Andy shared his flounder with me and Lisa turned it into a delicious dinner of flounder milanese. If you know, you know. If you don't, try it! You will not be disappointed. I took my battery back to West Marine where I purchased it. I explained how it was suddenly dead, wouldn't charge, or accept a charger being attached to it. Gave bad readings. They said their warranty for batteries is one year, mine was two. Out of curiosity they asked to keep the battery to test it out. Why not? They called the following day and said that it was in fact defective, and that they will be replacing it. They stand behind their products! Thank you Weat Marine. Hopefully, that's the last of the issues with the boat. Today, I had a surf fishing trip with a favorite family that comes back every year. Christopher and company met me on the very chilly, and windy, beach at 6am. I set out the rods in hopes of finding some stripers, kingfish, and maybe some blues. What we got were a bunch of little smooth doggies, croakers, a spot, and a little ling. Not the day I was hoping for. The wind, and chilly, dirty water conspired against us. On the plus side, they had a blast despite the conditions and lack of quality fish. Hopefully the wind takes a break for the remainder of the summer. Wishful thinking I'm sure. Finally, night time bridge hopping has been fairly productive. Some nights are better than others. But it's always fun! Looking forward to more adventures as the fishing season heats up. Tight Lines!
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