Tight Lines

The unprecedented winter bite of trophy stripers off Cape Charles, Va. continues with no end in sight. Capt. Clinton Lessard of SHO-NUF reported Chuck Many’s party got 11 bites yesterday that resulted in seven bass receiving Gray tags, including one over 50 pounds.

If Lessard doesn’t get a charter for Wednesday, he will offer an open boat at $350 a person. Call him at 757 710-0098 for details of the 7:30-4:30 trip.

Absecon Bay Sportsman Center has been keeping both grass shrimp (see photo below) and bloodworms in stock for anglers seeking white perch in South Jersey tidal rivers. However, it’s best to call the shop at 609 484-0409 to confirm those baits are still available. They have also received another shipment of Super Perch Rigs.

The N.J. internal waters striped bass season doesn’t open until March 1, but Capt. Fred Gamboa plans to start chartering Andrea’s Toy that month out of Perth Amboy — which is where the first active bass are most likely to be found. Call Fred at 732 670-1561.

A gale warning will go up from late Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon. Sunday starts off well with southwest winds at 5-10 knots, but goes southeast with showers in the afternoon.

Roberto Robaina (photo at bottom) at Fisherman’s Den, Belmar with the 9-pound, 2-ounce blackfish he caught from the Ocean Explorer this week.

One thing that you can count on when making a fishing trip with Crazy Alberto Knie is that the eating will be great if there’s a kitchen available to him. That was the case Wednesday when we joined Paul Castelli,a retired wildlife biologist with N.J. Fish & Wildlife, in Chokoloskee, Florida for a day of fishing in the Everglades.

Our main concern was catching some “eating fish” which Alberto could prepare in various ways that night for a guest I hadn’t dined with since 1972. Paul had only been out a couple of times with his duck boat since leaving his home in the Pine Barrens of South Jersey, but he had found an area with some bottom structure that would produce what we needed even if a few jigs were lost.

I quickly hooked a 13-inch sheepshead on a white jig tipped with a live shrimp, and we added a mangrove snapper, plus a spotted sea trout while releasing a short red grouper and the smallest Goliath grouper I’ve ever caught. They’re quite colorful when small as Paul shows before the release. Paul had saved a couple of sea trout and a sheepshead from his last trip, so we were good to go as Alberto needed three hours of prep for all he was planning.

Our guest was Gil Drake. a pioneering Key West flats guide who later owned Deep Water Cay Club in the Bahamas, where I fished for bonefish with himin 1972 after bringing a cold northeast wind in April that pushed the normally abundant bones off the flats and made for tough fishing. Upon returning to the States, he settled in Chokoloskee to take advantage of the fine fly fishing for snook that was available there when there was much less pressure on the Everglades fishery. Gil is in good health, but has reduced his guiding schedule.

Alberto made the most of everything we had from sushi to grilled sheepshead, though the stone crab claws were bought by Paul. There wasn’t much left of this feast an hour later!

The Canyon Runner Offshore Seminar will be held Saturday from 9-6 at Harrah’s Atlantic City. There may be a few of the $150 tickets available, but don’t make the ride before calling 732 272-4445.

The Hi-Mar Striper Club Fisherman’s Flea Market runs from 8-2 Saturday in the Port Monmouth VFW, 1 Veterans Lane. Admission is $5 for adults and free for kids 16 and under. Seminars are included.

The marine forecast in NY/NJ Bight is for northwest winds at 15-20 knots before dropping to 10-15 in the afternoon. Sunday is looking good with southwest 5-10 knots.

Just when it appeared as if the record-breaking winter run of jumbo stripers off Cape Charles, Va. might be slowing, that charter boat set a new standard as noted by Capt. Clinton Lessard as follows:

Guess what Chuck Tyman Manny , Shannon Pickens and I did today, besides catching 10 of 11 bites!!!!! We put a tag in a 60 pounder. To be exact it was 60 on the boga and 60.4 on the electric scale. So a true 60 in our books. Oh and (2) double headers. But wait …. We also hooked a quadruple and got all four in. Water temp was 46.1 and the fish were hungry. Back at it tomorrow then looks like a few windy days. Hard to believe the weather and water temp are cooperating and we are still catching these beauties. Still gonna run some trips if weather allows. 757-710-0098

Good news from Absecon Bay Sportsman Center is that grass shrimp are finally in stock. They are the prime bait for the white perch which are presently abundant in that area. At $15 a half-pint they are actually cheaper than bloodworms which are in stock at $25 a dozen. Call 609 484-0409 to be sure those baits are available.

The NY/NJ Bight forecast is for west winds at 15-20 knots with gusts to 30.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar reported a nice day yesterday with decent blackfishing and a 9.1-pounder for Roberto.

Capt. Clinton Lessard finally had a slow day of trolling trophy stipers from his SHO-NUF out of Cape Charles, Virginia, but in other years he’d be happy to get five hits and tag two a good day for Feb.7. One of those pre-spawning stripers had a Gray tag in her side. He’ll continue to sail on nice days. Call 757-710-0098.

Tomorrow starts well in NYNJ Bight with south winds at 5-19 knots before going southeast at 10-15 plus gusts to 25 in the afternoon.

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The Hudson River striped bass stock has been producing outstanding fishing results for several years, and the future looks bright as last year’s young-of-the-year class was above the long term average and continued that trend. Of course, those bass won’t affect our fishing in the short term. Yet it does prove that management has proven effective and that the sacrifices in harvest of large linesiders have been well worthwhile.

The protection of bass in the spawning stock has assured there will be lots of eggs being deposited in May, and as long as the smaller males cooperate with their milt the rest is up to Mother Nature. That outcome is always dependent on many factors out of our control, but the upward trend makes me comfortable in predicting another fine season in Raritan Bay and NY/NJ Bight

The February issue of the Fisherman magazine includes my feature ” The Good Ol’ Days Are Now!”, which concludes that last year’s fishing in most areas was at least as good as I experienced decades ago when the primary striper spawning grounds in the Chesapeake were producing big year classes about every six years to produce an abundance all along the coast north of there.

A small craft warning is up from 1 p.m. through Wednesday afternoon in the Bight. The southwest wind shifts to northwest 10-15 knots plus gusts to 30 in the morning.

N.J. charter skipper Capt. Frank Mihalic with something he doesn’t catch in Raritan Bay — a snook at Marco Island, Florida

International Game Fish Association Announces 2023 Tommy Gifford Award Winners Legendary captains honored by the global authority on game fishingDANIA BEACH, FL – February 6, 2023 – The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) today announced its 2023 Tommy Gifford Award winners, an annually-bestowed accolade that recognizes captains, guides, or crew members who have made extraordinary contributions to recreational angling through innovation, leadership, or outstanding accomplishments in their trade.Named for one of the greatest saltwater charter skippers of all time, Tommy Gifford Award recipients are selected through a rigorous nomination and vetting process conducted by the IGFA Legendary Captains and Crew Committee. This year’s recipients include accomplished journalist and offshore innovator Captain Karl Anderson; renowned billfish specialist and conservation catalyst Captain Gene Vander Hoek; boat-building innovator Captain Paul Spencer; seasoned saltwater authority and accomplished tournament winner Captain Ray Rosher; and renowned Key West charter Captain Brad Simonds. These industry legends will be honored later this year at the IGFA Tommy Gifford Awards Ceremony. Event details will be released in the coming weeks.“Captains, guides, and crewmembers are often the unsung heroes of sport fishing,” said IGFA President Jason Schratwieser. “The Tommy Gifford Awards allow us to celebrate those individuals whose devotion to their craft has led to remarkable achievements and continued innovation, paving a promising pathway for the anglers of tomorrow.”Tommy Gifford (1896-1970) is considered one of the most innovative blue water anglers and greatest game fish captains to have ever lived. Spanning the course of a 50-year career, Gifford cultivated an encyclopedic knowledge of game fishing techniques that led to serving as a guide and consultant to some of the most illustrious names in saltwater angling such as Ernest Hemingway, Michael Lerner, Charlie Lehman, and Van Campen Heilner. The spirit of the award pays homage to Gifford’s lifelong enthusiasm for the ocean and the creatures that inhabit it. As famed sportfishing author Raymond Camp wrote, “Big game angling has a brief history, but Tommy Gifford’s name is sharply etched on every page.”The 2023 recipients were selected by the IGFA Legendary Captains and Crew Committee, a distinguished panel of internationally renowned captains and mates chaired by Captain Skip Smith. Previous winners include Jose Wejebe, Allen and Buddy Merritt, Ron Hamlin, Charles Perry, Ralph Delph, Laurie Wright, Jimmie Albright, Bouncer Smith, Steve Lassley, Bubba Carter, R.T. Trosset, Billy Knowles, and more.“On behalf of the Legendary Captains & Crew Committee, it is a privilege to recognize outstanding captains, guides, and crew members from around the world every year,” said committee chairman and 2021 honoree Skip Smith. “It is an honor to celebrate their accomplishments and keep the history of our sport alive.”The 2023 Tommy Gifford Award recipients are:Karl AndersonCaptain Karl Anderson held his first paid mates’ job at age 13 and has since risen to become a globally-known figure in the world of big game fishing. Having fished the world over from Key West to Australia to Nova Scotia and beyond, he captains and manages several custom sportfishing yachts to some of the world’s finest sportfishing destinations, with thousands of billfish and tuna releases to his credit. Beyond his remarkable work as captain, Anderson is also an accomplished journalist whose writing, photography, and video work have permeated a sweeping list of industry publications and resulted in many national awards. Anderson also serves as an International Representative for the IGFA and chairs the Rules and Recognition Committee of the IGFA’s North American Regional Council.Ray RosherA third-generation Miami fisherman, Captain Ray Rosher has been captivated by the sea since boyhood. He launched his career as a professional crewman at the age of 16 and two decades later graduated as captain of his first charter boat, Miss Britt. Having spent more than 40 years working exclusively as a full-time fishing captain in both South Florida and international waters, Rosher’s chief objective is developing tactics to make sport fishing easier and more efficient, ensuring even inexperienced anglers can catch the fish of a lifetime. Leading with this passion for innovation and education, Rosher has contributed to advancements within nearly every aspect of fishing. Today, he continues to manage the South Florida three-boat fleet Miss Britt Charters and has more than 30 tournament wins to his name.Brad SimondsCaptain Brad Simonds was born and raised in Massachusetts where he grew up freshwater fishing with his family. When a high school summer job offered the opportunity to work in bluewater fishing, he said yes and never looked back. With more than 40 years of experience as a charter captain, Simonds has fished the world over from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula to Nova Scotia and beyond. In 2002, he decided to open his own daily charter service out of Key West on his 43-foot Torres, Southpaw, which in the two decades since has developed a reputation as one of the area’s most experienced and best-designed fishing boats.Paul SpencerBoat-building innovator Captain Paul Spencer began his career in the industry at the age of 12, working during the summer as an offshore mate. Raised on the waters of the Atlantic, throughout his youth he gained offshore experience from the Grand Banks of Newfoundland to the Gulf of Mexico and beyond. Following a decade of running one of the best charter operations in renowned Oregon Inlet, North Carolina, Spencer set out to modernize the world of boat building in 1996, using his vast charter experience to trailblaze new ideas and surpass what had been done previously. The result is the world-renowned Spencer Yachts, recognized for their “Carolina Style” craftsmanship and unmatched sport fishing performance.Gene Vander HoekCaptain Gene Vander Hoek received his big break when his family moved to Kona, Hawaii, in 1969. By age 17 he caught his first marlin and has since amassed 32 IGFA World Records as captain, mate, or angler. An early pioneer in billfish conservation, Vander Hoek tagged and released the second marlin he ever caught. His creative efforts to compensate crew who previously relied on selling billfish for income helped lead the tag-and-release industry standard that is practiced along the Kona coast today. A mentor in his community, Gene is the only captain to ever land four Pacific blue marlin weighing more than 1,000 pounds. In addition to these impressive accomplishments, he is widely known for inventing the first plunger lure for marlin trolling in 1978.For more information about the Tommy Gifford Awards or to make a nomination, go to http://www.igfa.org/tommy-gifford-award/.About the IGFAFounded in 1939, The International Game Fish Association is a nonprofit organization committed to the conservation of game fish and the promotion of responsible, ethical angling practices through science, education, rule making, record keeping and recognition of outstanding accomplishments in the field of angling. The IGFA maintains world records in freshwater, saltwater, fly-fishing and junior angler categories. The IGFA has members in more than 100 countries.

Capt. Clinton Lessard plans to run his SHOW-NUF from Cape Charles, Virginia with open reservations on Wednesday to troll for trophy stripers that will be tagged and released. Most of those bass are over 40 pounds, and this is a best bet for a “50” which many anglers never catch in a lifetime. The cost per angler is $300, which includes a tip for the mate. Reservations for the 7:30-4:30 trip can be made by calling 757-710-0098. The NY/NJ Bight forecast is for northeast winds at just 5-10 knots before going south at 10-15 plus gusts to 20 in the afternoon. Capt. Dave Riback, skipper of the Queen Mary at Point Pleasant. moved his charter boat Purple Jet to Jupiter, Florida for family fishing fun this winter and quickly figured out how to troll a wahoo.

The weather was still brutal yesterday at Cape Charles, Virginia, but big striped bass seemed to be comfortable underwater, even if it took some time before they turned on.

Capt. Clinton Lessard reported from his SHO-NUF as follows:

You don’t know unless you go!!!!! Blustery and frigid but it didn’t stop Art, Carol, Jimmy, and Kenny from taking a shot at it! Not a bite until 2:05, but after that it was NUTS. We went 6 for 8 for the remainder of the afternoon. Biggest today was 49 pounds, but all 6 were over 40 pounds. Back at it Monday. Here are todays pics.

The NY/NJ Bight forecast is for northwest winds at 10-15 knots before increasing to north 15-20 in the afternoon.

Famed N.J. angler Kil Song will go anywhere and do anything for good fishing. He was in Florida yesterday and didn’t like the conditions. So, he drove his car to Texas to catch this bull redfish while casting from a jetty!

The following report from the ASMFC doesn’t provide much hope for NJ/NY Bight (SNE/MA stock) anglers — and they don’t even mention the seal invasion of Shrewsbury River which offers little hope for improvement. Remember when it wasn’t uncommon to catch 100 flounder in Raritan Bay or off Sandy Hook?

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Management Track Assessments Find Winter Flounder Stocks for the Gulf of Maine and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Not Experiencing Overfishing

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• Management Track Assessments Find Winter Flounder Stocks for the Gulf of Maine and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Not Experiencing Overfishing Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Winter Flounder Management Board reviewed the results of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s (NEFSC) management track stock assessments* for the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) winter flounder stocks. These assessments found GOM winter flounder is not experiencing overfishing while the SNE/MA winter flounder stock is not overfished nor experiencing overfishing. The overfished status for the GOM stock remains unknown. The management track assessments for both stocks include data through 2021. SNE/MA winter flounder experienced a change in stock status from overfished to not overfished due to a change in the years of recruitment estimates used to estimate biological reference points. Instead of drawing upon the entire time series of recruitment estimates, the projections now only use recruitment estimates from the past 20 years (2002-2021). The SNE/MA winter flounder stock is most likely not capable of achieving the high levels of recruitment that were observed prior to 2000 due to changes in environmental conditions; therefore, using a truncated recruitment time series of only the past 20 years better reflects current stock condition. However, despite a change in stock status; trends in survey indices and model estimates all continue to indicate the SNE/MA stock is in poor condition.
   The GOM stock uses a modeling method that incorporates survey indices of abundance to obtain area-swept biomass and exploitation estimates. There have been time series lows in fishery removals (harvest and discards) for GOM winter flounder in recent years. Overall, the indices of abundance have not responded positively to the large declines in commercial and recreational removals since the 1980s. However, there were increases in the fall 2021 and spring 2021 and 2022 area-swept biomass estimates, which, if they continue, could be the beginning of a response to continued low fishery removals. It should be noted, however, that no survey data is available for 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, which is a source of uncertainty in this area-swept assessment that relies on survey data. Given this information, specifications recommended by New England Fishery Management Council, and recommendations from the Technical Committee and Advisory Panel, the Board maintained 2023 recreational and commercial measures for the GOM and SNE/MA winter flounder stocks for the 2024-2025 fishing years .The next management track assessments for both stocks are scheduled for 2024, and the next research track assessment, the equivalent of the Commission’s benchmark stock assessments, are scheduled for both stocks in 2026. As part of this analysis, the NEFSC will attempt to incorporate climate data into the SNE/MA winter flounder stock assessment. The management track assessment reports for GOM and SNE/MA winter flounder are available on the Commission’s website at
  http://www.asmfc.org/species/winter-flounder under Stock Assessment Reports.
• A shift to southwest winds will warn northern areas. Sunday’s forecast is for SW at 20-25 knots with gusts to 35.

With brutal cold expected in northern areas this weekend, a swordfish photo sent by Capt. Nick Stanczyk in Islamorada, Florida Keys proves that there are better alternatives a short flight away. As a kid I could only dream about catching a swordfish sometime during my life to join a very select group of anglers. Yet, the daytime deep drop fishery pioneered by Nick’s father, Richard, has made that quest almost routine. Indeed, that sword was one of four that hit baits dropped by Nick yesterday –and all were caught!

In order to book a trip on Nick’s Broad Minded, call Bud N’Mary’s Marina at 305 664-2461.

The NY/NJ Bight forecast includes a freezing spray advisory through Saturday afternoon. Northwest winds at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 30 in the morning drop to west 10-15 in the afternoon.

The following post by SHO-NUF in Cape Charles from yesterday follows:AMAZING . 12 BITES. 11 BOATED. 2 more 50 pounders. Best day of the season for us so far today. Alex and Eric made it happen. Of course the fish were chomping too. What a great season so far and we are not done. We have caught, as of today 154 ROCKFISH and 33 have been over 50 POUNDS. CRAZY GOOD. 757-710-0098

If you need more urging to go south, check out George Poveromo’s how at 8 a.m. Sunday on Discovery Channel as he fishes at Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas.

Jim Hutchinson Jr. of the Fisherman magazine reports all the governing agencies have decided that New Jersey will have to maintain status quo fluke regulations for the upcoming season. Though those regs probably worked out well for party boats and casual anglers, dedicated fluke fishermen generally hated throwing back fluke over 18 inches which they have become expert at catching while having to settle for a limit with smaller fluke.

The Tackle Box in Hazlet will hold their Super Saturday Sale on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. with everything reduced up to 50%. That will also be the final chance to enter their Striped Bass Raffle — and Bobby Back Bay Lures will be selling 100 custom metal lip plugs.

The Saltwater Anglers of Bergen County will be holding their annual Fishing Flea Market on Sunday from 9-8 at the Hasbrouck heights Hilton. A blackfish seminar will be presented at 9, and a surf fishing seminar follows at noon.

A small craft advisory goes up at 6 p.m., and changes to a gale warning from Friday morning to night. The forecast is for northwest winds at 25-30 knots with gusts to 35 plus freezing spray.

Vinny D’Anton has been doing well with spotted seatrout while wading flats around Sarasota, Florida. There have also some ladyfish, and he even caught a blowfish on his MirrOlure. Southern puffers seem to be more aggressive than the similar-looking norther puffer. Vinny got a surprise when a dolphin chasing a mullet almost bumped into him.

Chuck Many with another Cape Charles striper on Show-Nuf before release with a Gray tag and the spring spawn