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!

The back bays, especially at night, are giving up small to medium sized striped bass. For the adventurous type, I run bridge hopping trips that cover a lot of ground and challenge your angling skills. There are some weakfish and a few bluefish in the mix too. Tog has been solid on the reefs, and in various places in the back bays. But it closed on April 30th. So, not much opportunity there. Well, you can catch and release. The beaches are getting fishy too. Black drum and striped bass are cruising the surf waiting for your offering. Catching thwse fish in the surf is one of the most fun ways to catch these brawlers. And finally, the Delaware Bay will be lighting up very soon with big striped bass and black drum. So, there are lots of choices. Not to mention, flounder will be opening back up in a week or so. Call to get in on the action!

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!