Happy Holiday Weekend

After a fine Thanksgiving feast, we had a visit from Mike L. and headed into the woods armed with light tackle. There are some trout waters close by but I have not had time to scout them out yet, so we targeted pickerel in the nearby creeks and bogs. We raised about a dozen fish, landing a few nice ones including a few on the fly rod. After fishing, Evelyn treated us to a nice lunch at the Captain's Inn where we watched the boats come in from striped bass fishing with some nice catches. Later, we headed down to Barnegat Light to visit half of the Sunday crew returning from blackfishing with Big John's annual charter on the Mary M. It was good to see our friends and I was told Mike M. won the pool with a nine pounder. If the weather holds out, we will have some holiday trips on the Skylarker.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing everyone all the best on this special day.

A Whale of a Time

I was feeling a little under the weather, battling a chest cold, but the forecast was for 65 degrees and we headed out to the tog grounds. The news was reporting a whale in the area, which is no surprise as the bay is full of bunkers. "Tugboat" Fred came in to the wheelhouse to tell me about the whale he saw on TV and I said to him" there he is." Pretty cool to see. We set up shop and picked at some blackfish and threw back the shorts and boxed the big ones. The weekend forecast called for a change to winter weather, and when I asked the "Legend" if he would prefer to go on Saturday instead of Sunday, he replied "Not really", so we kept the boat in due to the gale warnings. Good thing too, as the front blew in during the night and it rained ice cubes. Time to put the boat away for a long winters nap and fish on the big boats with the heated cabins. Thanks to everyone.

Super Moon

The only thing super about it was the current. We had a good bite going the past few days, with some fish going six to eight pounds until the hard current killed the bite. Maybe that would explain why Tommy O. busted his rod on a big blackfish or why the "Legend" channeled his inner "Randy" and took his reel off the pole and threw it overboard? Lets hope the fishing holds up for one more week while we still have some tackle left.

Fall Fishing

The blackfish banks were pounded this week by private boats and we did a little ourselves. The "Legend" proclaimed that Friday was the best ever. While I think that is a bit of an exaggeration, it was our best fishing of the season. Sunday, the grounds were crowded and the fish seemed to be feeling the pressure. We had constant bites, but the fish were hard to hook, with the current running up against the gusty NW wind. We still had a good day and once again Big Tom did better then everyone aboard at the fillet table.

A Few Days in the Woods

In between chores, we got to walk in the woods the past few mild afternoons. A pretty time of year to view the changing foliage. I took an ultra light four pound spinning outfit along to make a few throws into any streams and bogs we came across and it seems they all hold pickerel. Mostly ten to twelve inch spikes, but I did have an eighteen incher and some of the strikes on the surface are fun to watch. We still have lots of exploring to do and it is always fun to find new spots to fish.