Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
The storms coming up from the south have given us a strong northeast wind making off shore angling very difficult. Many anglers kept to the back bays or surf fishing due to high seas and strong winds.
Sea Bass & Near Shore Wrecks
Despite the winds, some boats did venture offshore and were rewarded with a better class of sea bass. The “Bill Slayer" did a sea bass trip and brought home numerous tasty fish for their clients. The wind, along with the tide, made fishing difficult but their crew fished hard and returned with some healthy sea bass.
The “Angler” head boat was also out this past week and said they have a new big sea bass for their seasonal big bass pool. Keith caught a big 3.2 pound bass on ocean structure. Captain Chris reports the quality of bass greatly improved since opening week. They said with the current forecast, they will probably be at the dock for this coming weekend.
“Skipjack Sportfishing” had Bill Humpleby and his friend on board, and despite rough sea conditions they managed to pull in two nice black drum from the ocean structure.
“Double Trouble Charters” was also brave enough to venture out and returned with some stud sea bass. Captain DJ Churchill stated that he still has some upcoming dates available for both sea bass and tile fishing.
Kurt Howell said that as of now, the salt water inaugural Battle for the Buckle Tournament has added a few new rules as well as a bigger pay out. This tournament is sponsored by Pure Lure and will surely become a big tournament in years to come.
The “Ocean Princess” had some nice sea bass and flounder on their trips last week.
Kane and “Fish Bound Charters” was out again last week making a nice dent in the sea bass population. The crew always seems to know just where to go on any given day to find the big schools of fish. They said that since the opening day of sea bass season, they’ve had maybe two calm days to fish. Despite the bad sea conditions, the crew has managed limits on all their trips. I guess all the years of running the “Judith M” has really keyed Kane into the fish. As always, great job captain!
Monty Hawkins on the “Morning Star” reported one of the biggest bass he has seen in a long time: the 21 inch 5 pound stud was caught by Wayne Small of southern Maryland. That is one trophy sea bass!
Surf Fishing, Drum & Rockfish
Jen Thornton was fishing up at the Delaware line and caught three bluefish on finger mullet. Down on Assateague Island, the surf is still producing some really big fish.
Erick Fields pulled in a big overslot rockfish this past week.
Billy King and Harold Hughes caught a few of the big blues while he fished the island with cut bait.
Kevin McNelis got a nice keeper slot rockfish measuring 29 inches.
Joe Dinisio pulled in one bluefish and one shark on his trip to the beach last week.
Thomas Tyler also caught a big sandbar shark measuring around 5.5 feet He also caught a few kingfish and skates as well. Tyler reported he did not have any luck on rockfish nor drum. Maybe next time Tyler.
Back Bays & Bridges
The back bays have been on fire with quality fish coming onto the boats. Joe Thorpe was out and pulled in a few bluefish. Cut bait has worked best for blues, however do not forsake throwing a topwater or swim bait, as these fish when feeding will attack almost anything that swims by.
Bluefish are a very dark meat oily fish and considered by many anglers, including this author, to be a trash fish. However, smoked and made into fish cakes or dip can be quite a tasty treat. So if you have never tried bluefish, smoking them may be an option. But please don't invite me to dinner.
Jacob Gouge pulled in one of those big 33 inch, 8 pound slammers off the 133rd Street area. The big blue was fooled by a whole mullet rig.
“Bay To Beach Guide Service” put the heat on some big red drum this past week. The guide service also reports lots of small stripers in the back bays along the grass edges. Schoolie rockfish are around the Verrazano Bridge. Casting swim baits and plugs near the bridge structure is the best options for targeting these fish.
Kevin McNelis reported some great action near the bridge.
“Get Sum Charters” reports they continue to pound the flounders in the back bays. The area near the airport has begun to turn on and anglers are catching more fluke every day as the water warms. The channel near the grass edges are producing the best on an incoming tide near the high tide mark.
“Lucky Break Charters” was also in the back country catching a variety of fish on live bait as well as casting swimbaits. Lots of big flounder as well as drum and trout are showing up with bigger fish arriving every day.
“Atlantic Coast Sportsman” was out with Craig Cropper and caught a lot of small blues and rockfish along the Rt. 50 Bridge.
“Bad Wind Charters” had been shut down due to high winds, but did make it out one day last week and while using the drum baits they had left over, managed to pull in some big specks.
It's great to see the specks coming in this early in the year. The main channel along the docks near the inlet remains the hot spot of this past week, however the areas north of the bridge are also heating up and producing some great fishing opportunities.
So get out now before the big summer crowds arrive and catch a few fish.
Until next week...
Tight lines and fins up §
