Reefs are finally producing!
July 16, 2022 Stone Harbor 1 photo
Flounder
Flounder

Trip Summary

Ran out to a local reef this morning with Chris to see what we could find. We had damn near perfect conditions; light wind, enough cloud cover to keep it nice, and a fairly calm sea state. We made it out to our destination fairly quickly and set up a drift over a nice wreck. I got it right the second attempt, and Chris hooked up immediately. We made a bunch of short drifts over the wreckage and picked off sea bass and flounder fairly consistently. We ended up with three keeper fluke to 19", and two keeper sea bass. Chris was high hook. Around the time the bite slowed up a dive boat rolled up and asked if we planned to move any time soon. We I formed them that we were in fact making our last drift and they could have the spot. They were grateful and proceeded to tell us all about the myriad of species we were fishing over as the structure holds loads of critters. I asked if they ever came across lobsters? They said they did, but not lately. After our informative conversation we cruised off to try some rubble. Not a touch. We checked another wreck. Dead also. Given the suddenly dismal fishing we decided to try our luck at trolling. We ran a little ways off the reef area and deployed a variety of metals and a teaser bird with a Clark spoon attached in tow. We cruised around doing 5-6mph. The water on the reef was 71-72 degrees. The area we were trolling was 75-76 degrees. And the water was a clear and blue as could be. As we trolled around we marked all sorts of bait schools. Then we had a few flying fish erupt from the water. Those little buggers are so damn cool, and pretty! There were little storm petrals flying here and there. And a huge leatherback turtle came up to gulp some air. Finally, the bird teaser Clark spoon got hit. Chris hauled in a little false albie. No other action. We ran back to the reef to give it a try again. We were one of five boats left on the reef. We drifted over the structure three times, got a few hits, but no hook ups. Decided to call it a day. Even though all of our good action came from one wreck, we had a great time. Things are finally starting to look up and shape up to where they should be this time of the year. Finally... Tight Lines!
Frank Breakell
Stone-harbor, New Jersey, United States
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Whether you’re a novice or seasoned angler, Brynnie-B Inshore Fishing has a trip just right for you! Captain Frank Breakell offers something for every level of angler – every trip is fully customizable to suit your needs and desires. Everyone ...

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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