Slow, but fun day of the beach!
July 07, 2023 Stone Harbor 6 photos & 1 video
Ray
Ray
Whiting
Whiting
Bluefish
Bluefish

Trip Summary

Got my feet sandy this morning with Anna, Avery, and Lilly. I got a kingfish right off the bat in the early morning fog. It took a strip of Fishbites bloodworm. It was the only kingfish of the day. Still trying to figure that out. The kingie volunteered to be tossed out on the big rods to see what might be lurking around. It didn't take long to find out as the rod with the head on it went over hard. Avery was quick to get on the rod and slow the screaming drag down as the unforseen fish streaked off for the horizon. After a spirited battle Avery was able to land a good sized bull nose ray. We got it unhooked, snapped a photo, and sent it on its way. We had the incoming tide all morning, and the fog was rather dense off and on. It was stifling hot with the extra humidity. On the plus side, the water was pretty clean. Not that it helped. Even the ospreys weren't diving down much, and the dolphins just cruised past. Nothing of interest I suppose. We did land a small doggie, a bluefish, and a spot. The blue and spot also volunteered for hook duty. The spot chickened out and flew off the hook though. The remaining kingfish chunk lured in another beast that bent the rod hard and pulled drag off the reel with a vengeance. Anna was game for the battle, or so she thought. She gave it hell for a solid ten minutes but finally tagged out, turning the rod over to Avery. We followed the fish down the beach trying to gain an edge and slow it enough to pull it closer to the beach. The still unforseen beast was having none of that. So the battle raged back and forth with Avery gaining line when the beast allowed. Finally, we saw the surface break and a wing emerged. It was a large ray. Knowing who his adversary was seemed to inspire Avery who fought a bit harder. Once the ray was closer to the wash zone I tried pulling it in with the line in order to get to the leader. Even wearing gloves wasn't much help in restraining the ray. But eventually Avery and I subdued the ray and got it onto the wet sand for a quick hook pull and photo op before being released. That was pretty much all of the action for the day. We missed a bunch of hits, and had five fish pop off the hooks right in the wash (frustrating!!!). Otherwise, the last hour was rather quiet. Maybe the outgoing is better? I definitely need to find out... 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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