AMBROSE TOWER, RIP
There are those special places that are responsible for burning permanent memories in an angler’s brain.   Spots where extraordinary things have happened.  Spots where there exists so many possibilities…  So much opportunity.   Ambrose Tower, located approximately 7 miles SSE of Breezy Point, NY was just such a place.   “The Tower” marks the convergence of several main shipping lanes in Lower New York Bay.

Unfortunately, because of idiots standing poor navigation watches on the birdge, the Tower had been hit by wayward tankers 3 times in the last decade, one of which required a total rebuild.  On July 25, 2008, with nary a public hearing, the Coast Guard announced that Ambrose Light would be taken down once and for all.   That’s a bummer.

The thing about The Tower is that no matter what was going on inshore, I could always count on, at the very least, to be able to shoot out there and tangle with some exceptionally big bluefish, and man there were some bruisers out there.  A couple of years ago we weighted a fish on the boga that was 19.5 pounds!  But bluefish weren’t all that was out there.  The water at The Tower is a good 100’ deep.  Any good angler knows that once you get into that kind of depth, all sorts of species can show, and all sorts did indeed show at The Tower.

Indeed, I’ve had my best bluefin tuna days there ever.  I can remember being out there on a slick calm day and throwing crease flies into boiling pods of 20 to 40-pound footballs.  Bluefin would leap out of the water to grab those things.  I can also remember seeing 200 pound fish leap clear out of the water at Ambrose although I can’t say I every hooked any of them.  I can, however, remember hooking “things” that would just swim straight to the bottom and which we couldn’t budge, much less have any hope of landing.  We’ve caught big jacks out there…  Many a Mahi.  Once we even hooked and lost a big cobia at the boat.  Now that was cool!  The Tower was a stopping ground for various whale species as well.

Perhaps the most memorable moment at the tower came in 2005 during the best (and might I add one of the few) bluefin years we ever saw, and perhaps ever will see.  While chasing sparse pods of busting bluefin, out of the corner of my eye I saw a big animal breach and come crashing down.  It was quite far away, but being that I had two marine biologists on board from Environmental Defense I thought I’d ask what type of whale was gunmetal gray and had a white belly.  The response I got was that there was no such whale.   Twenty minutes passed and maybe 20 yards directly off the bow of my 20’ skiff an adult Great White, maybe 20’ in length came flying out of the water, shook it’s body in mid air, then came crashing down with a massive splash.  Everyone’s jaw dropped.  100% true!  There was chatter all over the radio from other folks who had seen the shark as well.  Cool sht.

On my last outing to The Tower, at approximately 9:00AM a big barge with a crane and other equipment pulled up and went to work, as if we weren’t even there.  That was it for Ambrose.  The demolition comes almost 41 years after Ambrose Tower replaced the Ambrose Lightship.  She is no more, yet she will always be remembered.  May she rest in peace…

Fishing Reports
Summer doldrums continue in most areas.  Inshore in Jersey, there isn’t much but the occasional bottom fish.  Roving schools of big and/or small bluefish can be found here and there, but even they aren’t very consistent.    Way, way off of the Jersey Coast, there has been some action with bluefin that are north of 100-pounds, but the midshore spots are relatively barren.  In New York Harbor, the topwater bluefish action has been pretty good.  Find structure with a swift moving current around it and you’re likely to score.  There have also been plenty of medium bluefish under the birds throughout the day.  It’s worthy of noting here that the amount of bait skyrocked over the weekend.  There are a ton of bay anchovies on the outside and a ton of peanut bunker on the inside.  So far it’s just been the bluefish on them as well as a few random bass.  It’s only a matter of time before bonito and/or false albacore get on these abundant baits.  Across the Island it’s been very similar.  Lots of bait, but only bluefish.  Expect that to change soon.  On the North Shore the first reports of bonito have been coming in.  Not a whole lot of them, but indeed, folks are scoring.  Connecticut, Rhode Island and Mass were into bonito this week as well, but most folks believe that the big push is yet to come.  The bass fishing in those states remains in the typical summer patterns.  Early morning and nights are producing for the sharpies, but it certainly isn’t gangbusters.

New York Saltwater Fishing Reports
From Lower New York Harbor, Capt. Chris Hessert from Manhattan Fly checks in with this report:
Well, to continue with reporting more of the same…poor conditions along the shore line with this continued southerly thats bring the brackish water and weeds, I have been running out to the Mud Hole and Monster Ledge. Along the inshore, it has been…at best, cocktail blues. Pretty crummy. Getting passed the 20 fathom line its a different world and yes, the hard tail search continues…yet so worthwhile when you get to  cobalt. Ran to Monster Ledge yesterday and had sights of things you would only see on Blue Planet or Nat Geo if not getting out there. Gas?, well thats just part of the game, dropped a bit too. Not a bad run with a blow less than 10, about 50 minutes. We hung with in a few yards of a mother Fin Back with her calf for a good half hour, giving her a little distance…so cool! then along come around 120 (last count) ocean going dolphin and these guys are not shy, hanging around the boat and riding the bow. You could reach over and touch the dorsal fin. They sound like the are breathing through a plastic cone…Big ‘ole Mola-Mola and a bunch of Leather Back turtles…speaking of turtles, Capt. David Azar was out the prior day and witnessed a Mako making brunch of a turtle…wow!  Yes, the toons are in our thoughts but this is one hell of a cool diversion while on our search, there was the usual chatter a bit south and there are hook ups. Sights like these can give you a larger perspective of the blue stuff, puts you in awe. The weird part, is being on the Subway 4 hours later!

From the Western Long Island/Breezy Point area, David Berman checks in with this report:
Hi John, David Berman here.    On sunday Bob W., Ken J. and I ventured forth fly rods in hand, in the relatively early am, in the search for the ellusive bonito fish that we’ve heard so much about lately , most sightings having been made in the local fishmarkets! Ken was first out towards the tip of jetty while Bob and I hung back to fish a bit from the beach., nothin doing. Look up to see Ken casting and terns working the tip, could it be the green fish? A scramble to find out ensues. Which brings to mind a play on one of the old Chinese Philosophers words to the wise and not so wise. “Old flyfisher who hurry on jetty bound to have crackup” , and it was so! All kidding aside , a hurried misstep on the rocks can result in pain and suffering. I was lucky , some pain and still some suffering, but nothing broken, body or tackle. And all that in persuit of cocktail blues, yellow eyed devils, as it turned out. Nothing doing except a take, a brief fight and then a bite off over the next hour or so, at which point a walk back into the inlet for me to see if I can see stripes instead of green. Sun,sky and tide were perfect for looking, the water could have been clearer  but was manageable if fish would  make themselves viewable. A few  did but showed no interst in my first offering, changed over to a small crab pattern , looked up saw another striped one, flipped the fly, he came up and took as if I had offered a cookie, and we were off. I’ll wait a bit longer for the green fish!   

Capt. David Blinken from North Flats Guiding checks in with this Eastern Long Island report:
I missed last week (bummer) sorry, but there was not much to report any way the fishing was tough at best. This week is another story! There seem to be more and larger bass around relative to last week.
There are also big blues prowling around. The bait as you might think is peanut bunker but what is coming out of the fish when they are brought to the boat is (tiny) bay anchovies (micro bait) go figure. this is making things fun and a bit challenging, and matching flies to this bait means small hooks (size 4 and 6) which makes it tough to keep the hook in the mouth of a fish. Look for the occasional Bonito and Spanish mackerel you might just get surprised.  There is a big problem affecting the late summer bass fishing and that is GILL NETS, strung from shore out 300 feet right in the lanes where bass swim. Sport fish status cant come fast enough! With fewer bass from Maine to New York one has to wonder if the 1980’s are no longer a memory but a reality. Lets hope things change soon!!! Remember, release release release so you can enjoy them another day.

Connecticut Saltwater Fishing Reports
Capt. Sandy Noyes from Rumrunner Guide Service checks in with this report from Eastern Connecticut:
This past week showed some promise of things to come. Mathew came up from the big city and spent the day catching a good number of bass and bluefish. It was pretty steady all day . Also I had Marty and Ron come down from the other end of NY. and they spent a pretty steady day using fly and spin gear. We had bluefish early and bass in the afternoon. I took one day to do a little fishing for myself. My wife and I were looking for the elusive bonito. In about four hours we managed to each catch one and lose another. They were pretty spotty and you needed lots of patience. I know of a few that have been taken between Fishers Island and Charlestown, RI. They haven’t showed with any regularity yet but its still early. One treat that I had this week was to have a seven foot dolphin come by to pay a visit near Watch Hill, he stayed awhile and then left for parts unknown. This happened about 100 yards from shore and in 25 feet of water. 

Massachusetts Saltwater Fishing Reports
No reports from the mainland, but Capt. Tom Rapone from Highly Migratory Guide Service reports good action with the bonito:
8.14.08 -  While the summer fishing pattern still persists on the Vineyard, the first few chilly mornings of mid-August definitely have me thinking about fall. It won’t be too long before we’re in full-on bone/albie mode, and it’s certainly one of my favorite times of the year.  For now, it’s been the same lights-out bluefishing and scattering of bones that we’ve had for the last couple weeks. I would expect the inshore bone scene to blow wide open any minute, as every single creek mouth and harbor entrance on the island is crawling with silversides and juvi herring. As of now, the fly/light tackle bass fishing for anything over 30″ remains a pretty tough gig. The key this time of year is a combination of EARLY morning, fast moving water, and rocks. The rocks will hold at least a few resident fish regardless of water temps…That’s all I got for now. Catch ‘em.

That’s all for this week.  A little light on the reports, but that’s because we’re in the depths of the summer doldrums.  Expect that to change in the coming weeks. 

Wow!  On that note, I’m gonna sign off.  See ya on the water…

Capt. John McMurray

A SEA-CHANGE ON THE MID ATLANTIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL?
Attended my first Mid Atlantic Fishery Management council meeting this week.  Not as a member yet, but as an observer.  Given the council’s historic proclivity to manage some species under their care right on the margins, which has resulted in overfishing in just about every year they have done so, and given their penchant for disregarding of the advice of NOAA scientists, and given the fact that they have made some very risky and sometimes downright irresponsible decisions, I was prepared to witness more of the same.

If you’ve been reading this column or any of my conservation pieces on summer flounder during the last 3 years, you know the deal.  Every year, despite prior years of overfishing, the council would pick the riskiest option and each year anglers would overfish.  The result being that there was very little chance we were going to make the rebuilding goal by the required time period.  A complete shutdown of the fishery was indeed a possibility, because managers never did make those difficult decisions that they should have.

Of course it’s quite a bit more complicated than this, and if you are really interested, you can get some background here .   And yes, there has been some new data since I wrote that article, but you already knew that if you’re a regular visitor to this site.  The bottom line is that the rebuilding goal looks very obtainable at this point due to a lowering of the rebuilding goal based on the newest and best available science.   The fact that the spawning stock biomass is going up while recruitment remains level is causing some folks to believe the stock is already maxed out, but based on the data, NOAA scientists still do believe that it can and will be rebuilt if we just practice management discipline.  I tend to agree.

But back to the point here.  There were two options on the table for the Council and the ASMFC to vote on.  One was the riskier option (a 19-million pound recreational quota which had a 50% chance of meeting the target by 2013) and one was the more conservation option (17-million pounds which had a 75% chance of meeting the target for 2013).  After some discussion, it looked to me like more conservative motion might actually carry.  Surprisingly, the talk around the table was “precaution”.  Given the Council’s history on the subject, I did not expect this.  Indeed it was encouraging.

Once the public was given the opportunity to speak, there was the usual rhetoric from those representing the party boat industry claiming the data was bad and that folks should be able to kill more fluke.  Unsurprisingly they supported the riskier option, and I don’t necessarily hold it against them for doing so.  After-all, this is how these folks pay the bills, and it needs to be noted here that the Science and Statistical Committee (SSC) supported this option as well, as unlike prior options the council had been given on summer flounder during prior meetings, this one had incorporated management uncertainty as well as a number of other factors.  In other words, it already had some precautionary measures in it.

The long and short of it was that Jim Gilmore, Head of Marine Resources at the NY DEC put up an amended motion to split the difference claiming that 18-million pounds would incorporate the required precaution on top of the inherent precaution already in the 19-million pound option.  It passed overwhelmingly!

Indeed, it appears that the council is coming around.  Really, they will have to as the Magnuson Stevenson Reauthorization very specifically requires precaution.  The whole situation was inspiring really.  Indeed I wasn’t too psyched about what happened the prior day with butterfish, but that’s another story which deals with a data-poor stock and there’s just not enough room here to get into it.

The bottom line is the Council is not near as intimidating as I expected it would me.  They may not actually hate me as much as I thought.  I even got a nice note from one of the NOAA employees saying that they read my articles and some even follow my blog.  A good indication that I’ll have some support.

Fishing Reports
From Jersey to the New York Bite, it’s been summer doldrums.  It was even a poor week offshore as bluefin that were there a week ago split town.  No reports of bonito yet and no reports of skipjack either.  Best I’ve been hearing is bluefish.  And they aren’t even the big ones.  A bit farther east from Fire Island Inlet and out, the water is much bluer much closer in.  Anglers running 8 to 12 miles out are encountering mahi under flotsam and lobster pots.  Again though, no reports of bonito or skippies, which is somewhat discouraging.  Granted, these things are unreliable and we’ve got to consider it a blessing if they do show, the conditions for their arrival are perfect.  They should be here by now!  Out east, the reports of bass fishing are pretty good.  This is due mostly to a large school of bunker that have been hanging around out there.  Find them and you’ll also likely find some really big bass on them.   In Connecticut you can still find bass in their usual eastern haunts, but generally they’ve been deep.  Western Connecticut has mostly bluefish, and small ones at that.  Even Rhode Island is experiencing the doldrums.  But the good news is the bonito have shown there and they are getting thicker and thicker each day.  Better get on them before the make it down my way.  Massachusetts is still producing some bass although not in the numbers it was a week or so ago.  The bluefin bite is inconsistent, but catching bluefin is indeed a possibility during each trip off the Cape.  Main seems to be the only place with a better than average bass bite right now.  Good news for Mainers indeed as they had a terrible spring.

New Jersey Saltwater Fishing Reports
Checking in from Jersey this time is Capt. David Azar from One More Cast Charters.  Check it out:
Friday August 1, Went out on Dr. Ron Mizrahi’s 28 Grady from Shark River Inlet to search the middle grounds for tuna, which have been reported sporadically in the area.  The water from about 10 miles off the south Jersey coast is a beautiful cobalt blue, with temps in the mid to high 70’s.  Working our way along the 20 fathom line we did not have any tuna sightings but we did get to take advantage of the numerous mahi-mahi that have invaded the area.  Found our first one, a 3 pounder, while trolling around some lobster pots in about 100 feet of water.  After that we began chumming the lobster pots and found abundant small specimens, and caught several on bait and jigs.  After catching a bunch of these “chicken” mahi we lucked upon a nicer specimen hanging right under a lobster pot float and Dr. Ron hooked this 14#’r on light tackle!  The fish jumped about 8 times, giving me ample opportunity to catch it with the camera!  There have also been reports of bonito caught in our local area.  It’s pelagic time again.

New York Saltwater Fishing Reports
Capt. Ken Rafferty checks in with an extended report from out East:
JULY 25th…Full-day…Michael Salzhauer, Ron Solars and Todd Bassen…Fly-fishing and Light Spin Tackle from Michael’s boat. With beautiful weather we headed over to Little Gull where we caught the last two hours of the out-going tide. Michael was at the stern of the boat with a fly rod while Ron and Todd were sharing the bow. Bluefish and Stripers were the target for today’s charter. At the northeast corner of Little Gull I set the boat up for a drift and as soon as I turned off the engine, Todd hooked up with a nice Striper and on the next cast Ron also hooked up. As they fought their fish Michael laid a nice long cast in amongst the rocks and he too hooked up. I now had three lines running around the boat trying not to get them tangled. Ron’s fish was lifted first, it weighed 12 lbs. I put a net around Todd’s Striper, lifted and it weighed in at 14 + lbs. finally Michael’s Striper was in the boat….it weighed 9.5 lbs.
The next drift produced three more Stripers, Michaels fish landed first, 8 lbs. then Todd’s fish, 17 + lbs. and Ron’s in at 24 lbs. They all landed a few more smaller Stripers in the 8 to 10 lb. class and with about 30 minutes of tide left Ron had a great hit………..this fish took out a lot of line. I thought it might spool him as I started the engine’s. The big fish turned back toward us and I cut turned the engine’s off. Todd and Michael had continued casting and Todd also hooked up with a large fish. As I was lifting Ron’s Striper into the boat I heard Michael say he was on! Ron’s Striper weighed in at 32+ lbs…..nice fish! Todd’s Stripers was next into the boat and it weighed in at 38+ lbs. Finally I had Michael’s Striper lifted in and it weighed 29 lbs.
All three anglers kept casting, trying different lures and flies but the fish were gone from here. I headed to another spot where I seem to always find big Bluefish finning on the surface and sure enough here they were.
Everyone hooked up on their first cast with Blues that weighed 10 lbs. and above. Lot’s of lures and flies were lost but lots of Blues were landed. I Think Todd was high hook for the day with 18 big Bluefish the largest being 14 + lbs.
JULY 26th …Morning…Arik and Gabby…Spin Tackle.
Big Bluefish, Big Bluefish another Big Bluefish and another and so on and so on.
JULY 26th…Afternoon…Todd Richter and hos father Harry…Fly and Spin.
Once again I headed out to my favorite Bluefish spot and after about 10 minutes Todd was hooked up then Harry. It wasn’t like the morning but they landed nice big Blues. At one point Todd hooked up and landed a 28 inch Striper. We ended the afternoon outside of Napeague Harbor landing small Blues on the fly.
JULY 27th…Heavy Rain…no fishing.
JULY 28th…Morning…Brian Culp, Beth and Jenny…Fly and Spin Tackle.
I headed out and found a large fog bank had droped on us leaving only about 500 feet visibilty in any direction.
We did have a lot of strikes but no hook-up so I headed to another spot where everyone landed a bunch of smaller Blues.
JULY 29th…Morning…Richard Watson…Fly-fishing.
This was Richard’s first time saltwater fly-fishing. Till now the largest fish he caught was 11 inches….so I couldn’t wait for him to hook-up.
I headed out to a rocky spot I know and set him up with a sink line and a pink and white flie. By the sixth cast I had Richard shooting out 50 feet and four cast later he was hooked-up and landed a nice 7 lb. Striped Bass. A few cast later he landed another at 6 lbs. this was a happy fisherman. Richard landed his third striper shortly after, this one also weighing 7 lbs. His next hook-up cut the leader and was gone…..Bluefish. I put on another flie and we also lost it so I decided if we were going to hook-up with Bluefish, I might as well take him to my favorite spot and so off we went.
When we got there the water was like glass and we can see finning taking place all around us. I gave Richard a rod with float line and a small crease flie and some instruction on retriveing. His second cast produced one of the greatest takes I have ever seen on the surface. This fish came up from about 15 feet of water, took the flie and cleared the water by three feet before landing on it’ back creating a splash that looked like a Volkswagon Bug was dropped from the sky. Richard couldn’t believe how strong this fish was….he thought that 7 lb. Striper whipped him but he said “that was like catching a potatoe” compared to this freight train he had on. He bruised his knuckles, bloodied one, burnt his palm but kept smiling………lol. We boated a whopping 12 lb. Bluefish, his first so I gave him the flie.
Richard landed three more big Bluefish that weighed in at 10, 10 and 12 lbs. Now he’s hooked for life….lol.
JULY 30th…Morning…Brad Dixon…Spin Tackle.
Brad was up from Georgia visiting family and said he wanted to give these Bluefish a try….and he did.
Brad had never seen large finning fish before, he was mesmerized for a second and then cast right in the middle of a school of about six fish. At first they were startled but soon turned back and went after the surface popping lure…………Slam! hook-up. Line played out as the reel sang zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
This Bluefish jumped seven times, two of those times he tail walked like a Tarpon as Brad lifted, then reeled down. This fish weighed in at 10+ lbs.
He landed almost twenty of these giant ocean going Bluefish, the largest weighed in at nearly 15 lbs. with teeth like a house cat……..lol.
Brad stated he didn’t know how he was going to go home to 5 lb. Large Mouth Bass.
JULY 30th…Late-day…Paul Scharfer and his son Jake.
We headed out for some Stripers but found no one home so it was Bluefish, Bluefish, Bluefish everywhere.
JULY 31st…Morning…Ted Lindy and his friend Bob…Light Spin Tackle. We headed out in hopes of catching some Stripers but could only manage one 6 lb. that Bob landed. Both anglers stated that they really didn’t like Bluefish but would fish them if nothing else was biting. Nether angler had ever hooked up with Blues like these. By time we were back at the dock they booked another date for more of this action in late August.
AUG 1st…Morning…Ed Shipiro, Mitch and his son Josh…Light Spin Tackle.
Once again we were into those rod breaking, reel burning, line snapping, lure loosing Bluefish that we all love to hate….lol.
We lost track of how many were landed but every one said they were sore from bringing them in. I consider that a complament.
AUG 1st…Afternoon…Arik, Gabby, Robbie and Rich..Light Spin Tackle..guess what they wanted…lol.
It only takes me forty minutes to bring in the morning charter and get back out there with the afternoon charter but in that forty minutes thing change. The weather stayed the same, calm but my those Blues had left for about an hour…I guess they went to lunch.
The last three hours we had one fish after another and they were all in the 10 lb. class.
AUG 2nd…Early Morning…John Mannix and his business partner Jeff…Light Spin Tackle.
Both John and Jeff fish all over the country and they both stated that these large Blues were second to none when it came to fighting. Both anglers landed over 10 large Blues each.
AUG 3rd…Afternoon…Jerry Silver…Fly-Fishing.
It was a little windy and it made casting to these fish tough so Jerry picked up the Spin Tackle and started landing giant after giant Bluefish…most of them near 15 lbs.
AUG 5th…Morning…Alex Edlich…Light Spin Tackle.
We headed out and tried for some Stripers but I think the water is a little to warm here and I would have to get into some 25 or so foot depth to find them so once again I headed for those great big Bluefish. We had one fish chase after another and then a hook-up. Alex said he boated 10.
AUG 5th…Afternoon…Jeffery Cash and his uncle Gary…Light Spin Tackle.
Jeffery knew exactly what he wanted “Big Bluefish”
Heres how they made out after three hours of fishing:
Jeffery…15 Blues hooked up, he landed eight of them and had over 25 follows. At one point he hooked up with a Blue that had to be 18 to 20 lbs. it almost spooled him but got off.
Gary…Hooked up with 10, landed 5 and had 15 follows.

Capt. Robin Calitri checks in this week from the North Shore of Long Island:
Night Bite on the North Shore.  Although we are finding fish in the daylight the Bass are much more active and larger at dusk, night or first light.  Just ask Brendan Cuccinello who has been finding keeper sized bass on swim baits in the Port Jeff area.  One of his secrets is to think like a snook light fisherman around the docks. Mitch Bernstein, Peter Chinsky and I had a fine day on Csicagain with blues and bass around Keyspan, Huntington and Northport on clusers, swim baits and tins.  We chased some intel from Captain Jack Roth and Captain Dan Stahl who saw some Bonito off Eatons while running their fun for kids, fishing camp.  I found none, but rumor has it that Captain Vinny Catelano slaughtered the Bonito near Cranes Neck.

Rhode Island Saltwater Fishing Reports
Capt. Greg Snow from Snow Fly Charters checks in with a Block Island update:
Aug 8, 2008 Report
Bones on Block Island are a welcome sight after a chilly easterly that sent the big bass packing.  Don’t get me wrong, there are still stripes here but they are a different group of fish that happen to be significantly smaller.  The past month and a half has been the best  bass fishing I’ve seen on BI in ten years.  The only sour note is all the big stripers I saw being killed purely as ego boosters.  The Bonito are racing through the rips and tide lines chewing on squid and sand eels.  They are showing very little so you have to put your time in and I’m sure you’ll be rewarded.  Albies are next and if it is even a fraction of last seasons run it’s gonna be screamer!         Tight Lines…Capt Greg Snow.

Also checking in from Block is Capt. Ray Stachelek, Cast a Fly Charters:
Busmen’s Holiday: There may be a small silver lining in the troubled economy after all for some of us charter captains. Bookings have been slower than usual. It’s understandable. Many are looking for work or had their hours cut. Everyone is affected with higher fuel cost, utilities, and food.   There are plenty of holes in my schedule now to wet a line. This has never happen before, especially during the regular fishing season. When you see good conditions to fly fish on the ocean, you take it while it’s still summer. The weather has been perfect lately. Besides, you always need the Intel anyway. The ride out to Block Island was fast and smooth as the sun rose over the North Rip. Passing the B1 buoy the current was racing toward a westerly direction. New moon tide today had plenty of water movement, perfect time to fish the south side.  Mike Testa was my guest today. He’s an extremely eager and energetic individual who cherishes any time he gets on the water.  Mike has been with us a number of times fishing with family and friends. He loves the total experience of fishing and being outdoors.  Fishing during the hot humid, months has many more limitations. The windows of success are much smaller. Bright sunshine, warmer waters will move fish to deeper depths. Today was no different. One does not expect the bite to last for any long duration. Strike while the iron is hot! The trick is to find what works in a very limited amount of time that you have. The earlier you find this out, the better your fishing will be obviously.  Here is some information that may help: The waters around Block Island are unbelievably clear compared to the upper bay. Visibility may be up to 25 feet. Before I leave my house I make sure I have clear stealthy fly lines on board. The prep starts there. Make sure you have some type of poppers and crease flies too. There will be more on that later.  Fishing with sink lines is beneficial in the morning with low light conditions. As the sun rises higher in the sky, you’ll notice a change in attitude with the stripers. That’s because these wary flats minded stripers become line shy. The suns angle is now penetrating perpendicular to the ocean floor. Dark fly lines contrast with the environment.  Now is the time to switch to a clear line. You’ll notice that the stripers are still holding close to the bottom. Strip after strip produces no results. Your fly simply will not get down into the strike zone. What gives? There’s not much you can do in this situation other than to put on a heavier fly. Anything else will give your tackle away. The rub! Clear fly lines are only manufactured in the intermediate/ floating ranges.  That’s when you tie on some type of popper. Most of these stripers are enjoying the benefit of the passing current. There hasn’t been much bait supply lately in waters around the 14 feet mark we have been fishing. They will rise to the surface presentation (as unbelievable as that sounds) due to water clarity and noiseless condition. I was amazed too that a fly higher in the water column like a streamer did not produce. The noise is important with poppers to get their attention. Make it look like a struggling baitfish caught in the current.  You’ll be surprised too!  Rap it up! The striper bite is best in early morning naturally. Bluefish will gradually replace the bass. These fish including bluefish are line shy too.  I kid you not! Try alternate fishing methods besides fly fishing. Stealth conditions and casting long distances away from the boat becomes important in the brilliant sunshine. Make plenty of surface noise later on in the mornings. Summertime is not fast easy fishing. It’s angling! There is still enough action to satisfy your appetite during the slower months of summer to get you bye.

Massachusetts Saltwater Fishing Reports
Capt. Dave Rimmer checks in with this report from Newburyport.  Check it out:
Bluefish arrived in force about Aug 1 in the mouth of the Merrimack River and along the outer beaches of Plum Island and Salisbury, and since then these 4-8 chompers have dominated our fishing scene. They are primarily feeding on adult sand eels, and some of the surface action is spectacular. They are very catchable on fly, jig, swimming lure or top water plug. Stripers are also holding well throughout the river too. A buddy caught a nice 40+ inch bass on a jig and pods of fish are still rolling around on Joppa Flats. Night time seems to be producing best, especially for the bait guys, but light tackle and fly fisherman are still pecking away and landing good sized fish. The weather has been unstable and not often both sunny and calm, so the sight fishing has not been available. Tuna reports are flowing in and some BFTs were seen 3-4 miles east of Gloucester in the past few days.

From Martha’s Vineyard, Capt. Tom Rapone from Highly Migratory Guides checks in with this report:
We’re still working through the transition period between bass and hardtails, but the bonito fishing has been getting more consistent with every passing tide. In the past week we’ve had mornings with up to a dozen bones on fly and light tackle. Most of the action thus far has been in the offshore rips south of the island, but some consistent inshore fishing for breaking bonito can only be days away. Still a ton of bluefish in the mix, too. Find some moving water and sandeels and you can pretty much hang bluefish up to 10-lbs. until you’re too sore to go on.

Last, but not least, Salty Flyrodder Joel Filner checks in with a report from the Cape:
A two week visit to Cape Cod brings back to me the early days of my saltwater adventures. How tough it is to begin anew in a different water, with tides, weather, terrain, structure, bait, seals, and access all to be part of the experience. We go once a year with college friends and this year was to be a longer stay in order to see a little more of the area and try to learn some new tricks. Most years I found that fishing at night or early morning was the trick. The tides are very important on Cape Cod Bay as the height and rapidity of the flow makes for tricky wading. I was singularly unsuccessful wade fishing on the 4 attempts, with not a nibble, and the only day I actually saw fish in the water was the last day at noon just after the top of the tide and the blue fish were cruising the bait, small minnows, as the tide turned. Just barely within casting distance and they chose to ignore my fly. A spin fisherman waded out further and managed one fish at the end of his range, but lost him as the fish cut the line. We did go out on a big boat on the bay, the Triton, out of Rock Harbor, once with my kids and once with my friends. The first trip all were successful, with 8 keepers, one 39 inch bass, and multiple blue fish for the half day. The second trip was much tougher, lots of blues, and only two bass, one keeper of 32 inches and one 26 inch fish. The captain commented that the second trip was more typical of the week, unlike the first week trip as the fish were not as active and further out than normal. All in all, a pleasant family/friend activity. My treat was to go out with Joe LeClair out of West Falmouth for a terrific day on the water. We fished his local waters off the Vineyard and the bays and islands off Falmouth. It rained for a part of the morning but that did not deter the fish or the fisherman. New waters with a new guide and new fish made for a learning experience as well as a rewarding day to work with another pro on the water. For the first time I watched large schools of Bass feeding on or near the surface on Kril, over a long stretch of water along the shoals. They just could not be bothered with the fly whether in front of them or into the pods of fish. I lined them and down they went, soon to surface again, and to guess their direction is a trick only Joe could master, even then no real fish moving to the fly. We did hook up with smaller bass, some additional blues, and one Giant bass, who ran into the backing twice, moved the line, and broke off on the rocks below the surface. We both cried. Again learning the water is key as off Montauk or in the Peconic, or Gardiners bay, the bottom is not rocky or with any real structure so the big fish move to the deeper waters.
This fish headed for the rocks below, only about 15 feet, and my usual action would be to let him run, but Joe cautioned me to keep him up if possible, and of course my drag was not set as tight as it should be and the bass won. We also fished the tidal water where the flow of the tide over rocks makes for a great feeding ground for the bass in large numbers. Boating skill is required, but the bass were there. We increased the size of the fly to get the bigger fish and it worked well as the size increased with the fly. Again a learning experience. The day was worth the effort and the guide was worth the trip.
Gonna go back next year and if possible maybe a trip to the Cape in the Spring if I can tear myself away from our great fishery.

Wow!  On that note, I’m gonna sign off.  See ya on the water…

Capt. John McMurray

FOR BETTER OR WORSE - BREAKING NEWS ON SUMMER FLOUNDER
Just this week a summary report of the most recent Summer Flounder Stock Assessment Workshop was released.  It’s a difficult read for a civilian but it looks as if the only real change is an increase in the natural mortality estimate (the number of fish that die from natural causes).   It follows to reason that this drives a significant drop in the long term number of fish that could be achieved under a management plan.  Still with me?  Yeah, it’s boring and sometimes confusing stuff, but important nonetheless.

Also reporting from that region this week is Captain Mike Duclos from Tiderunner Charter and Guide Service:
“Despite the fog, hot days and the constant afternoon threat of thunderboomers, July has been a very good month to fish.
The striper fishing has remained consistant with the main component to catching fish being the time to locate where they are feeding today. The Race has been on and off with the outside of Fishers Island being the better choice most days, the rips of Watch Hill and around the corner to the East have showed us some great tides with lots of 24″ to 30″ fish to keep everyone happy.
The flies of choice have been small squid, silverside and bunker imitations with the always go to deceivers in white with silver or pearlescent flash,being key.
The light tackle fishing has also been very good with sluggo’s to 9″ fished in the slow water, while jigs from 1/4oz to 1/2oz with pink or natural soft baits anywhere the linesiders are busting bait on top.
Our average has been a nice 15 Sripers to every 1 Bluefish caught , lots of bass around, and soon the bonito will be showing up adding to the number of possibilities.”

Rhode Island Saltwater Fishing Reports

Captain Greg Snow from Snow Fly Light Tackle Charters checked in with this report:
The fishing continues to be better than good out here on  Block Island .  With the Spear fishing state record at 68pds and the rod and reel state record at 75.6pds both being set within a week of each other in our waters so I guess it would be redundant to say that there are some ridiculously  large creatures  locally  right now.   My fly fishing clients have boated and released 19 bass over 30 pounds in the last week with one client landing a 26,32, and 39 pound fish on a biblical morning trip.   This particular client was the only 60+ foot caster of the bunch which tells you the opportunities  we have seen recently.  The water temps are about 66 so I expect that our large striped friends are going to be on the move to cooler waters any day now.  Acres of voracious blue fish have invaded BI which will keep lines tight for weeks to come.  BFT reports are pouring in so I will be out looking hard this weekend so  look forward to what I hope is a great fast fish report next week.        Tight Lines…Capt Greg Snow

Massachusetts Saltwater Fishing Reports
From the Boston are Capt. John Mendelson from Boston Fishstix Guides checks in with this report:
“The fishing has improved a bit this week in Boston as we suspected it would the week after full moon tides.  We still have tons and tons of bait–mackerel, juvy herring, adult pogies, and even a few squid!  The bluefish have started to trickle in so expect the mackerel to begin to thin out.  We have been fishing structure and grass flats.  The juvy herring seem to be concentrated more over grass than on the sand/mud flats and the bass are following. Though we have been off the water the past two days for some boat maintenance and a weather related cancellation, we will be fishing every day for the next five days starting tomorrow. It should be a good weekend and next week’s tides are good also.”

Capt. Dave Rimmer checks in with a report from GLOUCESTER TO SALISBURY, MASS:
“Reports are coming in from around this region that striper fishing is still very good. Some may have heard about the 54 pound monster that was landed on a live mackerel a couple miles off Gloucester harbor. I also witnessed a 47 inch bass caught and released at the mouth of the Merrimack River on a live pogie last Thursday. So live bait is obviously getting it done during these dog days of summer, but light tackle and fly fishermen are still producing too, especially in low light conditions. My guide friends in the Essex River are seeing more and larger fish, and Plum Island Sound has been much the same. Although the fabled Joppa Flats has slowed, there was some outrageously good fishing there last Friday, and a buddy landed a 28 pounder on a sluggo. Bluefish are also around, although they have not yet made a big inshore push. Most are being caught trolling deep in 50-100 feet of water. Now is the time I personally sharpen the hooks on my crab and shrimp flies and start dragging them across the white sandy bottoms along the many beaches in our region. This time of year often produces calm seas and bright sunny days, so sight fishing becomes really doable for us around here. And a lot of anglers are focusing on fishing after dark, not something I do much of as a guide these days, but mid-summer night fishing can be very productive. We are coming on a nice tide series with ebb flow at dawn abd dusk and a new moon, so this next week should be good fishing all around.”

From out on the Vineyard, Capt. Tom Rapone from Highly Migratory Guide Service checks in with this report:
“7.22.08: Bones and Blues
The water surrounding the Rock is smokin’ hot these days. East side water temps up to 78 degrees have forced us to change gears in the last couple weeks. Topwater bluefishing has been a blast with tons of fish up to 10-pounds on both tides. 1-2″ squid have begun flushing through various rips in Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds. If you find the right edge it’s non-stop bent rods. My client this morning put the first 2 bonito of the year on the deck of my boat - a matching pair of fat 7-pounders. It was a great start to what will hopefully be an action-packed late summer season… Still some bass on the west side of the island, but increased commercial pressure has made it a tough fly and light tackle bite.”

Wow!  On that note, I’m gonna sign off.  See ya on the water…

Capt. John McMurray

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 »

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 »