Cory Ruthless Routh has been telling me about the redfish fishery that exists in Lynnhaven in Virginia Beach for about three years. Every year we talk about me coming down and giving it a shot with him, but either weather fouls us up or something else comes up this, that or the other and it just never happened. Cory called last week and said the fishing had been strong, I asked what he was doing on Friday and Saturday and he said come on down. Dalton and I packed up our stuff Friday morning and headed down the Eastern Shore and across the CBBT.

Cory had a morning kayak charter trip and we planned on meeting him around 1pm when he wrapped up his morning session. Dalton and I landed at Lynnhaven boat ramp a little early, so we grabbed a sub at Crab Creek Sub Shop and by the time we were done Cory and his crew were back at the ramp wrapping things up. Cory said the action was slow in the early morning, but picked up towards the end of the morning with a few nice fish landed.

We loaded up the kayaks with our light tackle and fly gear and paddled about thirty minutes to forty five minutes against the current to our spot. Second cast Cory hooked up on a nice Red. First cast Dalton hooks up on a good one. I thought, jimmy christmas this is going to be like shooting fish in a barrel. I shot some pictures of Cory landing, tagging and releasing his fish. I turned around to take some pictures of Dalton’s fish, but he already landed and released it. We all starting casting again with high hopes of some fast and furious action….not so fast there cowboy, we keep casting and castling and nada. We fished this area for another 45 minutes or so and had nothing. We paddled to another spot and on my third cast I hooked a nice one that towed me around on the kayak for a few minutes. Landed him, got a few shots and started casting again. About ten casts later I hooked another nice one, got a good tow, snapped some shots, and released him. That was about it for the action the rest of the day because the tide just kept going out which did not make for good shallow water fishing.

We paddled back to the ramp and called it a day. Dalton and I headed back, showed and hit Chicks for a good seafood dinner and then called it a night. We decided that we would try to get out on the water Saturday morning early to try and catch the last part of incoming and then outgoing tide. Mark L from the TKKA kayak club, and who runs some charters for Cory, joined us Saturday morning as well. All four of us headed out around 6:15am hoping to find a load of redfish. We hit the spot where we had action the day before, nada, hit the other spot we had some action….Mark hooked up on a ray which pulled him around for a while. No reds to be found though. We paddled a ways to another flat and all spread out to cover the area and see if we could locate them, nada. We paddled a ways to another flat…nada. After a few hours of fishing we decided to call it given it seems they were just not going to bite and the tide was not going to turn again for another few hours.

We got back to the ramp around noon, packed up and headed home. Dalton and I hit Stingrays on the way home for lunch and loaded up on some more seafood. We stopped in to see Mason at Salisbury Fly Shop where Dalton got a heck of a deal on a spare spool for his J Ryall fly reel. We also ran in to a friend of mine who was visiting from the west coast, the fly fishing world is a small one that is for sure. After shooting some stuff for a while we jumped in the car and was home by 5:30pm-ish.

All and all it was a great trip. I used to do a lot more kayak fishing then I have lately, but it reminded me how much fun it is. Cory really knows the kayak gig well and worked hard to put us on the fish. Having a light tackle/fly fishing fishery for redfish as close as Virginia Beach is really cool and we will be back down to do it again soon!

Kayaks:
Native Manta Ray 14 ft
Native Ultimate 12ft
Native Ultimate 14ft
Heritage Redfish 14ft

Fishing Rod/Reel Combos:
Me: Shimano Calais Baitcaster on a GLoomis GLX 6′6″ rod with 20lb fireline
Dalton: Shimano Stadic 2500 on a Bass Pro Extreme 6′8″ with 10lb stren super braid
*Fly great really was not used since we did not find them schooled up.

Lures:
Redfish Magic rigged with a chartreuse 3/8oz Tidal Fish lure (caught both of my reds on this rig)
Redfish Magic rigged with a rootbeer Riptide plastic (Dalton caught his red on this rig)

Cory has a new book out on kayak fishing, I reviewed it before it was released and have to say I am pretty impressed with it. It covers about everything you need to know about kayak fishing, what you need, about different types of kayaks, and summary of destinations. Check it out or buy it below

Click here to read more and/or buy the book

TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT
Hey…  We all have out spots right?  Some secret, some not so secret, but generally we stick to them.  Unfortunately, most of us are very pressed for time.  If you’re not, then you are either obscenely rich or unemployed and on some kind of fixed income.  Let’s face it, fishing, particularly from a boat, is an expensive past-time and you need to work a lot to support it.  You could say that I know that better than anyone else as I’m burning the candle at both ends for 8-months a year holding three different income producing jobs just so I can be out on the water as much as humanly possible.  I’m not complaining…  It’s just part of the deal.  It supports a habit that I was never able to shake nor did I ever want to.

The point is that we all embrace that time we get on the water.  And, hey, we want to catch fish during that time right?  So, we’re prone to go to those same spots we know produce time after time.  It’s even worse for the guides as they have a client or two on board who pay a lot of money for the chance to catch fish.  Yeah, some may say, it’s just nice to be out on the water, but don’t let them fool you.  They, like any other red-blooded angler, want to catch fish.  So, these guides want to go to those spots that they know produce as there’s a tremendous amount of pressure on the guide to do so.  But back to the point, it’s hard to stray from what we know and try new spots.  The end result of this is angry crowed conditions at those hot-spots like Breezy Point, Sandy Hook, Montauk etc.  And, it’s a real bummer because every year the crowds seem to get worse and worse, and subsequently, the etiquette get’s worse.

The thing is, there are a lot of fish in a lot of different places, and we all just need to take the time and put in the effort to find them.  These fish may not be busting and under birds as they tend to do at some of the well known hot-spots, but they can be found back in the marsh areas and they can be found in super skinny creeks.  They can be found in white sand flats that rarely get fished.  Sure, these fish are going to be spooky and more difficult, but to me, that makes it all the more fun.  Don’t expect to get the size and numbers that you would on a good day in Montauk or Breezy or wherever the crowds tend to follow the birds, but do expect to enjoy yourselves more.

So, try and use your imagination.  Find those areas that look fishy, even though you never see anyone fishing there.  Trust your gut…  Even if you don’t catch fish there on the first shot, look listen and try to feel the place out.  Notice what the tides are doing, try and see what the bait is.  Think about what conditions would make that place better.  Then, form a plan of attack and go back to those spots when you think they may fish better and work them hard.  You may come up empty handed, but on the other hand you just might score.  And, when you do, you can claim that spot as your own, and it is because you earned it.  Brag to your friends about it, but keep it a secret.

Sick of chasing bluefish with the rest of the yahoos out at Breezy Point, I found just such a spot in the back of the bay a couple of days ago.  It wasn’t easy, but we were rewarded with some giant acrobatic bluefish that were fining in just a few feet of murky water.  Man was that fun!  There were even a few bass in there!  Sure I strike out all the time trying those subtle “it-looks-fishy” places, but I always try and re-try them, because under certain conditions they are bound to work.

Like I said… Trust your gut…  Stray from the crowds and try something different this weekend.  It just may pay off!

Fishing Reports
Speaking generally, it does seem that the summer doldrums are beginning to set it.  Of course, there always seems to be someone, somewhere who’s catching fish.  Yet, the general sentiment is that we’re in that “transition period” after the spring/early summer and before the pelagic show.  All I’ve got to say is “THANK GOD FOR BLUEFISH!”  If it wasn’t for these big bruisers, I’d take the darn boat out of the water during the summer doldrums.  This week was definitely dominated by bluefish.  Not just in my neck of the woods but from Southern Jersey up to Montauk.  North of that, folks are still catching good numbers of bass, but it has become an early morning or night event.  The bluefin thing is kind of dead at this point.  Folks are still seeing them off of Mass, and Maine but I haven’t heard of any being caught in a couple of weeks.  That should change once we get into August though.  And, as some readers know, August can mean all sorts of pelagic fairly close to shore.  Keeping my fingers crossed for that.

New Jersey Fishing Reports
Nothing official from Jersey this week, but from what I hear there is still as bass bite on those bunker from central New Jersey North, but it wasn’t near what it was the prior week.  Mostly blues right now and lots of brown sharks.  Inside, it’s just too darn warm for good fishing.  There have been some fish caught at night though.  Offshore there hasn’t been much going on with the mid-shore humps.  Just about all of the bluewater action has been way out at the canyon edge, and that’s a hike.

New York Fishing Reports
I’ve had some great action offshore…  Unfortunately it aint with the tuna.  Some very, and I mean very big bluefish on some of the structure.  They are eating flies and plugs, well, jumping, tail-walking etc…, and hey, it’s better than nothing!  Even caught a few bass on the structure as well.  Earlier in the week we found some schoolie bass on poppers in Jamaica Bay and some big blues mixed in.  All-in-all, not a bad week for a “transition period.”  I’m expecting to see bonito any day now… Continue Reading »

Bill from Oregon Inlet Fishing Center reported: ” July 16, 2008 Fishing Report
Offshore boats found yellowfin tuna and dolphin. More tuna than dolphin. One of the dolphin weighed 35 pounds. Several boats had wahoos. Billfish included 2 sailfish and a blue marlin. Inshore one boat on an all day trip caught trigger fish, cobia, amberjacks and sea bass. There were spanish mackerel caught trolling. Open boats caught speckled trout Open boats also caught flounders.Miss Oregon Inlet caught flounders.

(Above picture was taken from the Hoo Dini charter boat out of Nags Head, NC)

July 15, 2008 Fishing Report
Offshore it was dolphin, wahoo and tuna. There were two 55 pounders a dolphin and a wahoo. Three sailfish were caught and released.The big wahoo came charging out of the water for the bait. It is an exciting fish. Inshore Tailor bluefish and spanish mackerel in the morning, croakers and sharks in the afternoon. Two open boats caught cobias and sharks, one caught speckled trout both morning and afternoon. Miss Oregon Inlet had good flounder fishing keeping 10. One flounder measured 17 inches. They also had good spot and croaker fishing.

July 14, 2008 Fishing Report
This was a dolphin day. Some big gaffer dolphin amongst the school size fish. One boat had a 45 pound dolphin and a 47 pounder. Another boat had a 38 pound dolphin. Several wahoo in the catches.One of the wahoo weighed 46 pounds. One white marlin and two sailfish were caught and released. Inshore boats caught tailor bluefish and spanish mackerel trolling. At the same time a 73 pound cobia was caught perhaps by sight casting. Bottom fishing inshore boats caught triggerfish and sea bass both excellent on the table. Open boats depending on the type of fishing each did caught sheepsheads and black drum. One of the sheepesheads weighed 10 pounds. Two boats caught a cobia each and sharks. Most of these sharks were black tips. Two boats caught speckled trout. For variety one boat caught flounders, bluefish and sharks.”

TW’s Bait and Tackle reported: “July 17, 2008 Fishing Report
The weather is really nice. Wind out of N at 14 kts. A clear day. Take advantage.
Surf Fishing Report: Bottom fish and Blues.
Sound Fishing Report: The Little Bridge on the Nags head/Manteo causeway  reported Trout, Black Drum, Spot and Croaker.
Pier Fishing Report: Avalon: Blues, Spanish and Flounder.
Nags Head: Blues, Flounder and Spot.
Outer Banks: Croaker, Sea Mullet Blues and Flounder.
Inshore Boats Report: Trolling boats are still having good Spanish and Blues. Open boats are catching Trout and Flounder.
Offshore Boats Report: Tuna, Dolphin, Wahoo, Sailfish and Marlin.

July 15, 2008 Fishing Report
In Summary: Justin Stewart caught a 19 lb Red Snapper fishing from the Miss Hatteras charter boat. Miss Hatteras Captain stated the 19 lb Snapper was the biggest his boat has ever caught. Citation size is 10 lb.
Surf Fishing Report: Maybe a few Blues.
Sound Fishing Report: Black Drum, Flounder and Spot reported by the Little Bridge on the causeway.
Pier Fishing Report: Avalon: Few Blues.
Nags Head: Few Blues and small flounder.
Outer Banks: Blues, Small flounder, Spot and Croaker.
Inshore Boats Report: Trolling boats are catching Bluefish and Spanish. Deep water anglers are decking Triggerfish and Sea bass. Open boats are catching Cobia, Sheepshead, Black Drum, Trout and Flounder. There was a 73 lb Cobia caught on Monday.
Offshore Boats Report: There was a big Dolphin bite on Monday. Also catching Wahoo and Billfish.

July 14, 2008 Fishing Report
In Summary: The wind has switched to WSW today and there is grass. David Rohde caught a nice Trout. Citation size for Trout changed this year from 4 lb to 5 lb.  Matthew from Moyock caught a nice size 3 lb Spanish.
Surf Fishing Report: A few Blues and bottom fish.
Sound Fishing Report: The Little Bridge reported slow. A few Croaker and Spot have been caught and 2 Flounder.
Pier Fishing Report: Avalon: All the grass you can catch.
Nags Head: A few Blues and bottom fish.
Outer Banks: Spot, Croaker and 2 Flounder.
Inshore Boats Report: Open boats should be catching a few Blues and bottom fish. Trolling boats will catch Spanish and Blues today.
Offshore Boats Report: Dolphin and Tuna”

NORTH CAROLINA FISHING REPORTS COVERING THE ENTIRE NORTH CAROLINA COAST

Reported from North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries

From Knotts Island to Ocracoke:
Ocean: Offshore catches improved from last week’s slow activity.  Blackfin, yellowfin, bigeye, and even a few bluefin tuna were caught this week, along with a few dolphin and wahoo. Billfish catches were very good, with sailfish, blue and white marlin being caught on a regular basis.  Midrange anglers caught triggerfish, black seabass, amberjack, and increasing numbers of striped bass.  Cobia and king mackerel are still being caught about 8-10 miles offshore by anglers returning from gulfstream trips.  Inshore action included bluefish and Spanish mackerel in the near shore surf zone when seas were calm enough to access them.  There were some nice catches of flounder.

Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Anglers were happy with the good flounder keeper ratios of 50% or more throughout the area.  Spotted seatrout and red drum were caught by early morning anglers at the Melvin Daniels bridge  and underneath the Washington Baum bridge opposite Pirates Cove marina.  Green Island slough at Oregon Inlet produced weakfish  and spotted seatrout at dawn and dusk.

Piers/Shore: Spanish mackerel catches were very good for both pier and shore anglers. Bluefish offered some short term/high volume action for anglers.  A few kingfish, croakers, puffers, burrfish, spot, skates, and assorted sharks were caught. Red drum catches from Avon southward to Ocracoke improved considerably.  Anglers caught cobia while fishing at night from piers.

From Portsmouth to Surf City:
Ocean:  Summertime slows fishing down. The heat is here along with the wind. Gaffer dolphin and nice-sized wahoo are still being hooked and billfish are prevalent. Sunday a boat came in with a grand slam - two blue marlin, three white marlin and a sailfish. Other than that, the waterfront has been quiet. Spanish mackerel and bluefish are along the beaches and around both Bogue and Beaufort inlets. Kings were reported at the sea buoy - about 8 miles out.

Inlets/Sounds/Bays: A few redfish were reported in the Topsail Beach area and the Bogue Sound-Newport River and large numbers at Bogue Inlet.  Many undersized flounder were reported caught and released this past week from all waters. Pigfish can be caught around the Beaufort drawbridge and the turning basin of the state port. Anglers are catching many undersized black sea bass. Anglers are reporting many sharks.

Piers/Shore:  Piers have a mixed bag of croakers, spot, undersized flounder, pigfish and pinfish.   Bluefish and Spanish are keeping the fishing active.

From Topsail to Sunset Beach:
Ocean: Bottom fishing remains a good option this time year. Red, gag, and scamp groupers are biting on most ledges in the 30 to 50-mile range along with a host of other reef fish. King mackerel fishing was good last week at the shark hole and the dredge wreck. Slow trolling live bait such as cigar minnows and menhaden is the most productive method. Flounder fishing on the near/shore reefs typically picks up this time of year. The reefs just off the beaches of Brunswick and New Hanover are great places to try. Live bait such as mullet or menhaden fished on a Carolina rig is the ticket. There should be spadefish on most of the near/shore reefs as well. Tarpon fishing around Bald Head and on the shoals is another option this time of year.

Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Flounder fishing has been fair. I haven’t seen any outstanding catches, but most people are catching a few up to 8 pounds. The near/shore reefs and the Cape Fear River have been producing some fish of late. Trout are still biting in the lower Cape Fear around Southport, and in the waterway around Sunset Beach. Sight fishing for drum in the creeks and bays has been good from Topsail to Bald Head when conditions are right. Sheepshead and black drum are biting well at the ADM dock and Snow’s cut.

Piers/Shore: Typical summertime fishing. Topsail Island piers reported pompano, sea mullet, and a few keeper flounder. There were a few king mackerel landed last week. New Hanover piers saw much the same, with one pier doing outstanding on the king mackerel. Brunswick County piers had a good week on trout and pompano. There were a few king mackerel landed as well.

The weather is great, its summer time, and the fish are here. So what could be better?  The debut of the much anticipated and prized Virginia king mackerel. The arrival of these toothy hunters kicks off the pier angler’s big scene. These fish are one of the most desirable species within range of the fishing piers. And a big scene it is, since once again the first reported king landing of the year is coming from the Little Island fishing pier this week. Two kings, with one smoker exceeding 50-pounds, were hooked from the pier using live bait on a pin rig, while another king was also landed from the Virginia Beach fishing pier using similar techniques.

Although king mackerel will dominate much of the interest along the beaches, nice Spanish mackerel continue to hit small spoons trolled at 6 to 8 knots along the beach in about 25 feet of water. Use small planers or 4 to 6 oz in line sinkers to place the spoons within range.

Flounder seem to be on everyone’s mind as folks find good luck with limits of nice fish, with several weighing in at over 10-pounds. Most of the larger fish are hitting live bait along lower bay structure, but drifters are also scoring with respectable fish. The hottest spots for dragging baits for flounder are the Baltimore Channel, the eastern section of the Thimble Shoal Channel, and the Cell and Buoy 36A areas. For live baiters, the Cell, the CBBT, and inshore wrecks are still providing very good results. Be mindful of the flounder closure from July 21st to the 30th.

Cobia are starting to show signs of their late summer pattern as they begin grouping in the lower bay and along coastal waters. More cobia are cruising the top waters, but most of the fish within the bay are only ranging to around 30-pounds. A few larger fish to over 70-pounds are coming from the CBBT structure and from the oceanfront buoy lines and wrecks.

Big red drum also continue to provide good top water action as they school around lower bay shoals and structure. Ben Shepherd and Rudy Levasseur, both of Chesapeake, had a good day when they released six bull reds hooked from a school they spotted while flounder fishing this week. Although not drawing much interest lately, black drum are also still hitting for casters around the 3rd and 4th islands of the CBBT on Storm lures and grubs. Continue Reading »

Message from Ken Hinman over at the Coalition of Marine Conservation

—-
SHARK CONSERVATION ACT MOVING THROUGH CONGRESS
Please write to your senators

On July 8th, 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Shark Conservation Act H.R. 5741to strengthen the U.S. shark finning ban and encourage other countries to implement comparable regulations or face U.S. sanctions.

Before reaching the House floor for a vote, the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans amended the act to require the fins to be naturally attached to any shark landed within the United States and its territories. This is a major victory for sharks because the fins-on requirement would not only help enforcement of the finning ban, it would also assist in the identification of sharks, improving our understanding of shark populations.

Now the bill has moved on to the Senate and must be approved by majority before it can be enacted. The Senate version of the Shark Conservation Act (S. 3231) was introduced by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) after the House vote, and the bill was then referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. We need your help to keep the momentum going!  Please take a moment to write to your senators today.

Visit NCMC’s web site for instructions on contacting your senators and to view a sample letter.

Poor water quality in the Chesapeake is a result of a lot of factors, but sewage spills anytime, much less during the summer time are one of the worst things that can happen. I have been very outspoken on the fact that as water quality declines we need to reduce harvest limits and I still believe that. However, at the same time we need to start really doing something about the water quality, like improving it. I have heard some good signs around our neck waters in and around Easton with a lot new grasses being seen which is good news. We need really  need to start to clean up the sewage plants around the bay. Just stopping this will make big improvments. We really need to stop this “s*!t

——————————————-

4 million gallon sewage spill shuts Patapsco at Linthicum

By SEAN PATRICK NORRIS, Staff Writer
Link to article

Published July 16, 2008

More than 4 million gallons of sewage spilled from a pumping station in Halethorpe into the Patapsco River starting Monday afternoon, prompting health warnings from Linthicum downstream.

Officials on the Baltimore County side of the river cautioned the public to avoid contact with the water from the Annapolis Road Bridge to the Chesapeake Bay for at least a week. Anne Arundel County posted a similar warning.

The spill happened over 12 hours starting at 5 p.m. Monday at the pumping station at 4612 Annapolis Road, Baltimore County officials said. Officials discovered that a log jammed in the system, causing an electrical outage at the pumping station.

“I don’t know how a piece of wood gets in there,” said Bill Clarke, a manager at Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management. “I’ve seen Continue Reading »

Lateral Line Ambassador Cory Routh has been working hard over the last year to produce his first book titled “Kayak Fishing” that will be released in August.

Readers will get a quick, clear understanding of the essential information needed to get started in the growing sport of kayak fishing. Cory Routh covers everything needed to know for safe, fun and successful kayak fishing, including:

• Choosing the right kayak for fishing
• Selecting PFDs and paddles
• Kayak safety and self-rescues
• Basic and advanced kayak rigging
• Transporting your kayak
• Choosing the right fishing gear
• Stealth and presentation
• Fighting and landing fish
• Freshwater fishing
• Saltwater fishing
• Fly-fishing techniques
• Kayak fishing instructors and guide listing

PODCAST
Listen to a Podcast with Cory from the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival where I talk to him about his new book, his guide service and kayak fishing in and around his home waters of Virginia Beach.

 

 Kayak Fishing by Cory Routh: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

BIG BLACK-DRUM AND BIG DUMMIES
Those black drum are pretty darn cool.  As I wrote a couple of weeks ago here, there have been big schools of 50 to 80 pound fish fining on the surface off of New Jersey and Long Island.  It’s unusual to say the least to have them in such concentrations this far north.   More than likely, it’s an anomaly and we probably won’t see them again.    So, just witnessing the phenomena was worth the price of admission for me.  But these fish are eating flies and plugs as well.  A mixed blessing I think, and I’ll explain why in a second.  At any rate, we caught and released a handful of them before they decided to head south again.

Last weekend I got a call from a friend that they were off of Northern New Jersey.  He knew this because some idiot came in with 6 dead black-drum asking everyone at the marina if he could eat them.   Of course, you can eat anything, but it’s widely known that the eating quality of a black drum is terrible.  In fact I’ve never even heard of anyone eating them.  So I have to wonder…  Why on earth would someone kill approximately 300-pounds of fish when they didn’t even know if it was edible?  I mean, I guess I could understand one fish, but 6 big-ass fish!?

Perhaps I’m being too hard on such people, but at the very least, it is kinda stupid don’t ya thing?  I’m fairly certain those fish ended up in a dumpster.   I don’t get it really…  I guess it’s a cultural thing.  Kill first ask questions later.  I suppose the thinking here is that the life of those fish might have been worth the beating-of-chests/bragging rights back at the marina…   I certainly don’t see it that way.

During my upbringing up I was taught in no uncertain terms that killing things, whether fish or animals, just to kill them, is unethical and in most cases downright immoral.  And I was also taught that if you kill something, you better damn well eat it.  That was a hard lesson learned when I came back from the Potomac River one day at 9-years old with 6 dead large-mouth.  After the “what are you stupid” lecture from my father, I was eating mushy disgusting fish fillets for the entire week.  Every last fish till it was gone.   And I don’t want to rehash the squirrel incident…  Too painful.  But I’m darn glad that these were lessons ingrained at an early age.

Indeed, the black drum stock is healthy: They are not overfished, and overfishing is not occurring.  One could make the case that their relative abundance is illustrated by their expansion northward.  I think you can reasonably attribute such numbers of the species to the fact that they aren’t considered a table fish.  But their abundance certainly doesn’t make killing such impressive animals just to kill them any more acceptable.  Shame on that guy!

Again, I suppose I could write off killing one fish or maybe even two to ignorance.  I mean I suppose these guys just didn’t know any better.  But killing 6…  Come on man!  Are you out of your freaking mind! That kind of shit really rubs me the wrong way.  I try not to let it bother me, but it does.  Am I alone out here?  Would love to hear from the readers.  Shoot me an email and tell me what you think: johnmcmurray@optonline.net.

Fishing Reports
Same kind of bass action in central and New Jersey as we had last week.  Lots of big stripers under bunker schools down there and folks live-lining them are doing a number on’em.  Inshore, the action is slow as the water temp is beginning to get up there.  Still, lots of schoolie bass blitzing under birds off of Breezy and the Rockaways.  There are scattered pods of bunker just east of Breezy, but there doesn’t appear to be much on them at the moment.  Hopefully that will change.  The sand flats on the backside of the point are really beginning to work well.  Lots of sandeels up on them and plenty of cruisers.  Very technical and difficult fishing though.  If you don’t have you’re A-game, don’t expect to catch fish.  Believe it or not, Jamaica Bay fished really well this week.  Lots of schoolie bass and big-ass bluefish along the sod banks.  We’ve been catching the shit out of them this week on poppers and sliders.  Nice to not have to burn all that gas!  Across the island it’s been a similar situation with the schoolie bass.  The fish only seem to be in or around the inlets though.  On the north shore there’s been some pretty good schoolie action in the early mornings, and there were a bunch of reports of some really good cinder-worm hatches going off this week and last.  Out east there are some really big bass on the South Side.  The flats fishing on the inside is standard for this time of the year.   A pretty good amount of bait, but mostly schoolies.  There are some big bluefish as well, which make for great fun in the skinny stuff.  On the Connecticut side, it’s schoolies to the west and big bass to the east.  Someone took a fish in the high 60 pound range last week at orient point.  In Rhode Island the fishing has been very consistent.  Plenty of fish in the 20-pound range eating plugs and flies.  Block Island is just sick right now.  If you can manage, get out there!  There are some quality bass being taken from the shore as well as by boat.  And, the bluefin are beginning to fill in, and anglers are getting some legitimate shots.  On the Cape, there have been major bass blitzes off or Race Point and other such rips.  Some of these blitzes are composed of fish north of 20-pounds.   The tuna fishing has been slow though.  Still some fish popping here and there but very difficult to catch.  No official reports from the Boston area, but unofficially, there appears to still be plenty of schoolies around.  Not much in the way of big fish.  Unless of course you’re a bait guy.  The Merrimack/Joppa area is relatively slow as well.  Increasing water temps are undoubtedly having an effect.  In Main, they continue to have the worst bass season in recent memory.  It’s an enigma really, but it’s not a good sign.  Still, the aces were able to pull some nice fish off the flats.

New Jersey Fishing Report
From Shore Catch Charters, Capt. Gene Quigley reports:
John, We still have insane bass fishing down here. In fact the last few days have been the best of the season, with over 60 fish in the boat over 30 lbs in two days!! They are eating bunker, pencil poppers, and big wooden swimmers right now. Today i had out Ron Crisco and his pal Jim from PA and they have fish to 46 lbs on top water. Offshore the tuna bite is also on fire in the Canyons, and I make my first run this weekend and will be switched over from bass to offshore this week. The inshore bluefin bite has been very slow for us however yet in Cape may it is on fire. Hopefully these fish will push up to our inshore lumps soon.
New York Fishing Report
Capt. David Azar from One More Cast Charters checks in with this report from the Lower New York Harbor area:
July 4th,  I have been getting several reports of spectacular striper fishing at the Breezy Point jetty.  But Last Friday things were slow out there, so with Al, Ron and Zach aboard I headed into Jamaica Bay to see what was happening and the guys were not disappointed.  Our first stop was loaded with cocktail blues busting all around the boat.  We landed about 20 to break the ice before that action quieted down.  We moved further back in the bay, near JFK, to see if there was any bunker action going on.  Instead we found some more top water action, but this time it was chopper blues.  Blues from 6 to 10 pounds were pouncing on small bait, and several fish were leaping out of the water higher than I have ever seen, some had to be six feet in the air…fortunately they were doing the same thing to our popping plugs.  the guys hooked up with these big fish for over an hour, Al picked up the fly rod and managed to hook 3 of the bruisers on a white crease fly, but they got the best of him every time.  Back at the Atlantic Highlands Marina another boat pulled up to the boat ramp with a report of catching several black drum…probably the same fish several guides reported seeing and catching over at Breezy the week before.  I took some photos including one of the lucky angler holding up what had to be a 70 pound specimen, pretty ugly, but very cool all the same.

Checking in from the North Shore is Captain Robin Calitri from Long Island Fly Fishing:
Each morning on the Sound, I check various spots to see if the Bonito have arrived.  There is a little fished, but wonderful, fly and light tackle fishery for these tunoids on long Island Sound.  They are taken with small flies, Deadly dicks and 4 inch Fin-S-Fish.  They are not easy to get to bite but a 50 yard run and a wonderful fight will follow a wrenching strike.  It is best to fish a rip where the Bonito set up and wait for them rather than running and gunning which makes the fish even more wary.  Light, fluoro carbon leaders work for most of the guides.  No Bonito as of 7-10-08, but they will be here soon. For now, the blues are thick along the whole North Shore.  Laurie Moldower had an eye popping experience with many blues to 4 pounds on light tackle on Friday abord C Sic Again.  The area hot was from Eatons Neck to the Nissequoge River.  On Wednesday, Kathy and Erick  Feildstadt, of Long Island Bassmaster fame, slew the blues on the sluggoes left over from the pre senko days of  bass fishing.  One schoolie striper was in the mix.  The sluggoes are fished on a 5/0 hook with no weight.   Each sluggoes is good for about 20 seconds but they are fun and effective. Why  wouldn’t you enjoy this fishing.

Also from the North Shore, Bob Giordano reports:
Hey John…  Short outing yesterday morning had schoolie bass off the hook. Continue Reading »