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Perfect Drift Sport Fishing Fishing Reports
UP DATED ON MONDAYS April 23 2007 The boat was splashed, and Perfect Drift Sport Fishing will start fishing now. We snuck out with a friend over the weekend and flounder fished in Barnegat Bay, and we put together a good catch all weekend. April 26 2007 We are ready for action and were launched last weekend, we expect bluefish to arrive in Barnegat Bay any day, and a few tide runner weeks already entered the bay, so we might start targeting both by the weekend. Last year we started hooking blues on April 23, and the speedsters were thick by the 30th. Although none showed up by the middle of this week, they can instantly appear. When they do, we’ll troll pony tails for them, and he’ll toss soft plastic lures like Fin-S Fish for the weakies. Those huge weeks enter the bay for a number of weeks to spawn before leaving, and smaller ones show up in the bay later in the year. We will also target striped bass eventually, and small stripers are already biting in the bay. But we like to wait and fish for stripers when big migratory arrive and chase bunker schools in the ocean, when we fishes for the insiders with live bunker or trolled bunker spoons. April 30 2007 Tried trolling for bluefish Saturday morning, but no blues bit, so we switched to flounder fishing and scored very well. About 40 flounder were boated in Barnegat Bay north of the BI buoy. We had tried trolling for blues because we expected the speedsters to arrive by now, and we tried trolling for the fish again Sunday morning and hooked a 2- or 3-pound bluefish right away, but then no more bit. Blues were hooked sporadically in the area this weekend, but there was no huge body of fish. May 7 2007 Trolled 5- to 7-pound bluefish in Barnegat Bay on Friday morning on pony tails, in the afternoon the anglers switched to clamming for stripers, but no stripers were landed, and there wasn’t even a hit. On a trip Saturday pony tails were trolled in the bay again, and six blues were boated. The blue fishing seemed better on weekdays when boat traffic was lighter than on the weekend with more boats. So then we ran to the ocean off Harvey Cedars, and the anglers got into 5- to 7-pound blues on jigs and surface poppers. Blues in the bay and ocean were popping up quickly and moving fast, and boats would get on them for a moment until more boats showed up and put down the schools. We found no striped bass mixed with the blues so far. But when more stripers arrive, charters will concentrate more on either trolling for them or snagging bunker and then fishing bunker chunks or live ones for the bass. May 14, 2007 Trolled a bunch of bluefish in Barnegat Bay on Saturday on pony tails, Anglers onboard also hooked blues while casting plugs when birds were seen working at Oyster Creek Channel in the bay. We also anchored and tried clamming for stripers, but slime grass filled the water and fouled the lines. The blues were big—6-; 7- and 8-pounders with occasional 10- or 12-pounders mixed in and the anglers loaded the cooler with them. Usually small blues 2 or 3 pounds fill the bay in spring, but we seen none of those smaller ones this year. Locals were still waiting for the big push of large, migrating stripers, and the only bite of bigger bass seemed to be on live herring. When the migrating bass arrive, Charters will clam for them in the bay and will also fish for them in the ocean with live and chunked bunker snagged from schools that fill the ocean during the migration. We will troll the ocean with bunker spoons for the bass at that time. No fishing was done in the ocean on the trip Saturday, and winds blew strongly. Tiderunner weakfish, the big spawners that enter the bay for a number of weeks at this time of year, were scarce so far, but they’d occasionally be caught here and there. May 21 2007 Pulled the plug on a trip Saturday because the weather forecast looked bad, but the boat headed out Sunday morning and anchored along the sod banks of Barnegat Bay, and two stripers were clammed, and two spit the hooks. The fish seemed to take the bait carefully and spit it out. Then we picked up and ran to the ocean to look for blues and bunker, making it as far north as the bathing beach at Island Beach State Park, but nothing was doing. So he headed back to the old standby, trolling ponytails for blues in the bay, and put together a catch between the BI and 42 buoys. May 28, 2007 Targeted just about every fish available and the fishing was so-so. On Friday anglers onboard got into a good bite of stripers, bagging three keepers, all 20- to 30-pounders, in the ocean on trolled bunker spoons. On Saturday we went back to the same spot, but no stripers bit, and only a 13-pound blue was hooked, other boaters caught a few stripers that day, but not a lot. We saw a few stripers breaking the water surface Saturday off the bathing beach at Island State Park, but none would bite. Not many blues were seen. So then we headed out to the reef, and a few nice-sized sea bass were boated, and no fluke hit, and a bunch of dog fish harassed the baits. So then the boat sailed to Barnegat Bay, and bluefish were trolled on pony tails. The blues were cocktails, and the 1- and 2-pounders were now prevalent in the bay instead of the bigger slammers that invaded previously. June 4, 2007 We got into stripers and blues among bunker schools in the ocean off the bathing beach at Island Beach State Park, Most of the stripers there seemed to average 20 or 25 pounds, and a few 30-pounders were mixed in. We returned to the same spot Sunday before the storm rolled in, but the fishing was slow, and only two blues were trolled on bunker spoons. Maybe the coming storm affected the fish. Perfect Drift will compete in the Jersey Coast Anglers Association Fluke Tournament this weekend. The ocean was 55 to 57 degrees, too cold for fluke, so we expected to fluke fish in the warmer bay. June 11, 2007 Competed in the JCAA Fluke Tournament on Saturday in Barnegat Bay. Angler’s boated 20 fluke including six keepers to 19 ½ inches while drifting along the Intracoastal Waterway between the BB and BI buoys. The bite wasn’t on fire, but the gang picked away at the fish, and it looked like the area’s fluking was picking up A few blues were mixed in, and the bay was 74 degrees, and the anglers onboard dunked squid and minnows and mostly fished small buck tails. Chatter on the radio talked about a few stripers landed in the ocean apparently off Seaside. June 18,2007 A fluke trip produced 34 fatties including 10 keepers between the BI marker and BB marker in Barnegat Bay on Sunday, A few small bluefish were mixed in, and bluefish strips, squid, spearing and bucktails were the baits. A striped bass charter was cancelled Thursday because of the northeast blow, and we will probably make one more striper run this year. We heard nothing about stripers in the local ocean recently and the only fluke in the ocean seemed to come from up north toward Sandy Hook. But we will now focus on fluke and sea bass, and ocean fluking will take place on the boat as soon as it turns on. Eventually charters will also target fish like bonito and bluefin tuna at Barnegat Ridge. The Ridge was loaded with bluefish, and the bottom there was paved with sharks, and no fluke seemed to hold at the Ridge yet. June 25, 2007 Headed out for fluke in Barnegat Bay and nailed 13 keepers from the BI marker to the BB marker on Saturday, So it was decent, and a couple of the fish were as large as 3 ½ to 4 pounds, and three times as many throwbacks bit, and squid, spearing and minnows on bucktails were the baits. On Sunday a trip ran to northern Barnegat Ridge and loaded up on all the bluefish anyone could want. The 10- to 13-pound slammers, and sometimes bigger ones, were mostly hooked on bait in a chum slick, but jigs, surface poppers and nearly anything got hits. So the ridge was covered with blues, and the fish spit up sand eels and other bait. Fluking and blue fishing are in full swing. July 02, 2007 Fluking was great in the ocean off Seaside on Friday but the bite fell apart Saturday, when 400 boats showed up. Only a dozen boats fished there Friday, and the trip that day produced 16 keepers, a good catch, and probably three times as many shorts were released, all in 30 to 35 feet. Squid and spearing were the baits. A trip sailed there Saturday, but the fishing was slow among all the boat traffic. So we instead sailed off the Coast Guard Station, and three keeper fluke and a bunch of shorts were landed in 20 to 30 feet. The water turned cold, and the surface was 68 degrees, and the bottom was colder, and the fish were cold. July 09, 2007 Had a fluke trip got out Friday and fished in the ocean off the bathing beach at Island Beach State Park, and the fishing stunk, and the water temp had plummeted to 57 degrees because of southern winds, four shorts were hooked all day on the trip, and the water was freezing. On Saturday there was slight improvement on a trip to the same spot, and three keepers were bagged, and a ton of shorts were hooked. Big pods of bunker were around, and boaters landed a couple of stripers among them. But lots of boats were on the fish, making it tough to try for the stripers. On Sunday a fluke trip improved some more and 10 keepers to 5 or 6 pounds were bagged at the same place. The pods of bunker seemed more broken up that day. In the afternoon hard southern winds blew up again. We will probably concentrate on fluke for a moment, and when weakfish arrive, charters will fish for them. July 16, 2007 Fluke fishing was good in the ocean off the bathing beach at Island Beach State Park on a couple of trips with even though shorts had to be weeded through, Flatties to 4 or 4 ½ pounds were boated on the trips, and the water was around 67 degrees. Weakfish our showing up in Barnegat Bay. We will keep targeting the summer flounder. July 30, 2007 A charter trolled a mess of bonito and then chummed slammer blues at Barnegat Ridge on Friday, Bonito fishing was red hot at the north ridge, and the fish bit two and three at a time on small feathers and Clark spoons. Bluefish chopped some of them in half, and the bluefishing was done on bait while anchored. Fluke trips ran Saturday and Sunday and were pretty good in the ocean from the bathing beach at Island Beach State Park to the Coast Guard Station, and the fish were spread out along the area. Lots of shorts bit, but so did some nice keepers including a few 5- and 6-pounders. On Saturday morning there was no drift, but then winds picked up the drift, and fish started biting. On Sunday the morning was dead calm with no drift, but later winds picked up the drift, and some good fishing started, until storms threatened and we headed home. Aug 06, 2007 Fluke fishing is on fire, we ran fluke trips Friday and Saturday and walloped fluke to 7 pounds in the ocean in 30 to 40 feet near the shore. On Friday 30 of the fish we hooked were keepers, and on Saturday 24 keepers landed. So we will keep targeting them as long as it holds up. Fluke season is only open another month; get your fillets in the freezer while you can, especially now that the fishing is hot. Aug 13, 2007 Fluking was tough over the weekend, and the weather was too nasty Saturday to fish the ocean, so a trip stayed in Barnegat Bay, and only a ton of shorts bit. Those who did fish the ocean took a beating and only landed a few, and it wasn’t worth it. Sunday’s fluke fishing was also tough, but we bagged six keepers and released maybe 20 throwbacks at the Tires in a strong current in the ocean. The most successful anglers seemed to boat five or six flatties that day, and everybody else seemed to get skunked or bag one or two. Winds blew hard toward the end of the week, and that probably stirred up the water and put down the bite, but it should pick up again, we will be back fluke fishing this week. Previously the fishing was good. Aug 20, 2007 A fluke charter was weathered out from strong winds and rough seas Saturday No decent weather seemed to be forecast this week until at least Thursday, We been fluking in the ocean, usually toward the bathing beach at Island Beach State Park, but one recent trip also fished the Tires. on Saturday was forced to fish Then on the next day a trip could get no drift in winds that were too light, and only five or six keepers were boated in the ocean. But previously the ocean fluking was quite good, and if the weather will cooperate, it should turn on again. We will keep fluking until the season ends in three weeks, and then charters will target weakfish in Barnegat Bay. Croakers will also be in the mix after fluke season, Aug 27,2007 Putting together a fluke catch was tough after the storm, but weakfishing was good in Barnegat Bay on Fin-S Fish and shedder crabs,The bay’s been loaded with weaks and bigger ones this year, and in the past the fish were just over legal size. This trip hooked weaks to 3 or 3 ½ pounds, and sometimes 4- and 5-pounders have been mixed in with the population this season. We also tried fluke fishing toward the inlet near the lighthouse, but only shorts bit. On Saturday a trip tried fluke fishing in the ocean both near the shore and in deeper water, but it was tough, and only three keepers were bagged. weather last week, and the bay was A trip Sunday produced a half-dozen keeper fluke, maybe a dozen shorts and lots of skates and sharks in the ocean. Croakers also arrived along the ocean front, and 15 to 20 of the were landed on both the fluke trips, and they were good-sized. The season closes September 10. Afterward weakfish will probably be the target on charters until fall fishing for stripers and blues begins. Capt. John Hobson Phone215 630 3939
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