Sea bass fun!
October 29, 2023 Stone Harbor 3 photos
Tautog
Tautog
Seabass (Black)
Seabass (Black)

Trip Summary

Ran out to the rubble and wrecks with Keith. Our first pile was a barrage of constant tog bites. The rigs no sooner hit the bottom when they were assaulted by rapid fire tog bites. I managed to pull up five. Keith fed them. Nothing big, but all were fun. We decided to run out deeper. We didn't mark much on the pieces we were hovering over, but we built up a bite. All short sea bass, and a short flounder landed by Keith. Just before we left, we managed a keeper sea bass each. But the bite had slowed considerably. Onward we went. Our final destination had two boats already working it over. We found our own area to ply and dropped down our rigs. Mole crabs, squid, and clam all worked. The current was really heavy, pulling our sinkers out further than we wanted. I should have put on heavier leads, but we managed. The boat drifting behind us pulled in a beast of a sea bass, measuring in at 20 inches. The other boat to our left wasn't doing so well. We had consistent action. Our companions decided to leave, so we poked around. We spot locked on what looked to be a tasty piece with fish hovering above it. Around this time another boat decided to join us. Rather than simply drifting across the area, he decided to run a circle around us. He then stopped about twenty yards off our stern and held his position by back trolling. His exhaust fumes we just lovely. Then he'd let her go and drift by us. And repeat the process. Granted, he never interfered with our fishing, but it was annoying. Especially his exhaust. Courtesy is dead. They finally left, they weren't doing so well. We hung out enjoying the now quiet and fresh air. We ended up keeping thirteen out of the fifty sea bass we caught (yes, I keep score). We tossed plenty of keepers back. We could have had our two man limit, but decided we didn't need all of those fish. We had plenty. We finally called it a day. The conditions were incredible, except for the raging current. Not sure of it was the Moon or the tropical storm, either way, it made things interesting. The trolling motor got a work out. Can't wait for tog season to open back up, and the striper bite to get more consistent. Well, out front at least. They are chewing in the back... 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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