Shorts, but fun...
July 22, 2023 Stone Harbor 5 photos
Seabass (Black)
Seabass (Black)
Weakfish
Weakfish
Flounder
Flounder

Trip Summary

Ran out front with my friend Keith and his son Keith Jr. The maritime forecast was a bit off, imagine my surprise. It called for 2' at 12 seconds, which would've been a dream. Instead it was 2' with occasional 3's at maybe 1 second. It was manageable though. We had planned on going out to try our hand at trolling to see what we might find. Given the conditions we decided to stay closer and play with flounder. When we arrived on the reef we were greeted by an 8' hammerhead shark cruising along. It came up to the boat then slowly slid back down into the depths before we could get our phones out for a photo. Not sure how effective throwing a baited hook would've been, but that thought crossed our minds briefly. We set up on our first drift over some heavy rubble piles and found that the drift was rather fast. Spent the rest of the time backtracking rather than using the trolling motor. It worked as we picked at the flounder, sea bass, and weakies. All of which were short, of course. After we made a few drifts over that pile we moved on the next. Of course some nimrod in a blue boat decided that I knew where the fish were and followed me. And closely, never mind etiquette. I normally don't care if someone is close, it's usually crowded on the reefs. But I was one of six boats, not counting the two head boats there. Spread out! So Mr. Blue kept following me and staying close. Finally I said something, he acted like he couldn't hear me, but must've gotten the message as he moved away. Anyway, we continued to pick at shorts. We made one more move over a wreck. I spot locked over some choice structure and we tried for sea bass. It was dead at first, but then we started to pick at them. Then it died out again. We took a ride out to check out a buoy, but nobody was home. The wind was coming up some and the white caps were getting more pronounced. We called it a day and ran it back in. Really fun day out there catching up with Keith and I trouncing Jr. to inshore fishing. Pretty sure he's now hooked... Tight Lines!
Frank Breakell
Stone-harbor, New Jersey, United States
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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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Windy fun!
Windy fun!
September 17, 2024
Decided to get out and fight the wind tonight. For whatever reason, I enjoy fishing on stormy nights. The water is rough, casting is hard, retrieves are difficult, and the fish usually bite. I enjoy the challenge. So, I went to a sod bank and battled the northeast wind. The flood tide was a bit much, making the current run even harder than the nearly full Moon already was. And of course it pulled every bit of grass off the sod banks and I to my casting lanes. Regardless, I managed to catch a nice weakie. Of course it popped off the hook as I lifted it. But, it was all good. I would've released it anyway. It would've been nice to get a photo though, it was a nice weakie. A few casts later I got another weakie that spit the hook as I reached for the leader. Just not my night it seemed. The bite died out and the grass got thicker, so I took a walk. I found a crazy Eddie that was swirling and rough. As luck would have it, a striper popped right in the middle of the maelstrom. I cast a bunch of times trying to present the bait just right. After about twenty casts I must have got the presentation correct. I got hammered by a nice striper that peeled off drag in the heavy current. We battled back and forth, both giving and taking line. I finally got it close and grabbed the leader. She measured out at 31 inches. Snapped a quick photo and released her back I to the churning water. No other takers. I took a ride and tried a new area. It seemed quiet at first, but then a school of bait erupted in the surface. I cast and something swirled on my jig. A few casts later I came tight to another striper that put up a fantastic fight. This one measured out at 27 inches and was fat. Another quick photo and release. And again, the action died. Took another ride to search another area for any willing brawlers. Found loads of bait, even had it exploding on the surface, but no willing predators. On the plus side, I got to watch a pair of otters chase each other around. Cuteness overload. But no fish. I tried one final spot, but it too was devoid of any willing takers of the scaled persuasion. So, I called it a night. And it was a good night. The windy conditions did not disappoint. Tight Lines!
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