Wednesday, November 30, 2011

That Sad Time Of Year

Yeah, yeah, I know it's the holidays but the boat went on the blocks today. Evelyn and I took advantage of the nice weather and spent three days taking all the fishing tackle, rods,  coolers, clothing and everything else up to the garage. I spent most of the time in the engine room, cleaning and changing oil,filters and all the other fun stuff that comes with winterizing. The stripers are still biting out in the ocean, too far for us if we were still sailing, and the big boats pick at blackfish (nothing like the fishing we had the past two months) but it's the only game in town. I will start fishing on the big boats in a couple weeks when the cod and ling start to bite.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Thanksgiving Weekend

The weather was as good as it could be for this time of year and we started off Friday with plans of catching big blackfish. The blackfish had other plans. We got to the grounds and waited for the bite to start and waited and waited...finally giving in and trying for stripers on the local grounds and after an hour of that, threw in the towel. Saturday I had a crew of big blackfish hunters looking for the hot fishing they had last week. Onboard were Saint Pete, Frankie, Jerry,  Randy, Ken and Felix. Started on the blackfish grounds and quickly decided a change in plans was needed. We headed out to the ocean and were greeted with diving birds and striped bass. The guys caught some schoolies and keepers and then we made a drop for blacks. The new moon current made the fishing nearly impossible. We caught a few and then fought the extreme current all the way home. Sunday I told the crew to be ready for bass. Out to the Tin Can Grounds were the bass  and birds were blitzing on sand eels. Rebecca did very well after traveling all night to get to the boat. Thanks for the gift. Mike L. got his first ever striper. Roger did very good as usual when it comes to jigging and boated the largest bass at 14lbs. Ken caught a lot of fish up to 30 inches. Evelyn was the angler of the day. It seemed she had a fish on every drift all day long. Big Tom had lots of fun when not complaining about various ailments. The ice on the dock in the morning reminded me that it,s time to put the boat away for the winter, time to fish on the big boats, we will start up again in April. We will be catching fluke before you know it.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Tuesday

With the season winding down, I wanted to take advantage of the nice weather and get a trip in. Well so much for the weather. It was raining, dark, cold, and dreary when we left the dock. The bite started off slow and stayed that way all day. There are less smaller blackfish and the big ones we are catching are not as aggresive and you have to wait for the bites. Randy had a few up to six pounds and Ken caught a mess up to eight pounds. The suprise of the day was two keeper striped bass that bit on green crabs. The wind picked up out of the SE about 1PM and we got in just as the rain started.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Fishing Report

It's been a busy couple of days on the blackfish grounds. Friday we had a steady pick of larger fish, Evelyn had the biggest at 8lbs. and many were 4 to 6lbs. Randy had a good day and Saint Pete did well also. Saturday was a wide open bite with a boat limit by 11 AM. I was expecting to find the same on Sunday but the fish were very finicky and it was a long time between bites. The average size was smaller but we did put a few 5's and 6's in the box. Ken was high hook with 9 keeper sized fish.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Wednesday Morning

It's 7AM and the wind at Robbins Reef is S at six knots, air temp 55 probably the last day this year you will see conditions this mild.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Weekend Report

We are fortunate to still be fishing in the bay this time of year. The reports from the ocean told tales of high winds and higher seas. The blackfish bite was picky this weekend. The fish are there, but would turn on and off for no apparent reason. I think the full moon had something to do with it. There were plenty of bites but the fish would not take hold and were hard to hook. The ones we did catch were nice size with some going 5 to 7lbs. Dan C. had the biggest of the weekend, a nine pounder that was released. Saturday we were the only boat on the grounds but with the nice forecast and the lack of striped bass, everyone was trying for blackfish on Sunday and it was crowded out there. The season is winding down and I hope the fishing holds up for the next two weeks.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Wednesday

What a perfect day to be out fishing and I had the best crew of anglers aboard. We got to the blackfish grounds and set up on the fish right away. The crew had me running around with the net for the first hour until the fishing slowed to a pick of bigger fish . (the smaller ones are more aggresive). Ken caught a mess up to 6lbs., Tom O. had a 6 1/2lber., Evelyn's best was a six, Mark S. had a five, Felix and Randy had fun, and Capt. Fred was the angler of the day with a 6lb. a 6 1/2lb. and the 7lb. pool winner. Around 11:30 AM  the full moon tide started ripping and the bite shut down. I tried four different spots for striped bass but we never had a bite and returned to the dock half an hour early.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Weekend Report

Saturday started off dark, cold and windy but we were going blackfishing because there are plenty of days coming soon for shoveling snow and watching the Weather Channel. Onboard were Dan, Doug and Patrick and they had a good day with quite a few 5 and 6lb. fish. Sunday was much nicer as the wind died out and the sun was shining when we left the dock. The fishing varied during the day from slow to a pick to very good. Everyone caught a mess of blackfish but Big Tom was the star of the day with a 6 1/2lb. and 11 1/2lber. our largest of the season. Ken had some 5and 6lbers. Roger's best was a six, Evelyn had a 6lber. Capt Fred caught a bunch (I know I gaffed at least one) and Rebecca went home with a nice bag of fillets.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Saturday

The weather looks good for us in the bay ( N 5 to 10 knots) so if anyone wants to go blackfishing give me a call. 201 650 9768

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Wednesday

We could not fill the boat today but it was so beautiful we went fishing anyway. Paradise pete, Ken the Legend , Evelyn and I had a great day of blackfishing in flat calm conditions. It was so calm we even drifted while wating for some current to anchor. Fishing was good, the fish were a little finicky and you had to tease them into biting but most of the fish were nice whitechins in the four to six pound class. I will sail on Saturday if anyone is interested give me a call.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Weather

The fall season is normally a windy time of year, with fast moving systems, cold fronts and NW winds. The first NE storms also show up this time of year and change the fishing picture. I am sure we made the right call in cancelling the trip for today's sea bass opener as the coastal bouys are showing NE winds at 20 knots. The advantage we have is being able to fish in the bay where we are not effected by the rough ocean waters. Sailing for blackfish WED 11/2 a few spots left.