Tight Lines

Vinny D’Anton got Mike Casella into wade fishing during the winter in Sarasota, and he became interested in broadening his fishing horizons after hearing Vinny’s accounts of N.J, fishing. Unfortunately, his first two mornings with Vinny didn’t produce a bass in Shark River or in the surf — and he only had a few hours this morning to change his luck before returning to Florida.

Though conditions looked perfect in Shark River this morning, only two bass were raised to poppers by all the anglers there. It wasn’t until we were walking off that I made a cast with a Band of Anglers Dart Spin that was hit in the strong current by a schoolie — and Casella saw his first striped bass. Though he was satisfied with that, Vinny took him to Spring Lake for an attempt to catch a striper with sand fleas.  Surprisingly, the mole crabs were hard to rake in bait sizes, but we had enough to fish with in the short period before the life guards would move us off the beach. Vinny proved there were stripers there by catching a mini-bass on his Chug Bug, but there wasn’t a hit on the crabs until the last minute when Casella’s rod bent and another last shot striper was beached. That 23-incher looked like a carbon copy of the bass I had released in the river. Mike left on a high note!

My mention of the Queen Mary’s cutlassfish in yesterday’s blog came at the right time for Dr. George Gabuzda of Wall who was then able to identify after catching it from his boat out of Hoffman’s Marina in Brielle while fluking with spearing and squid. The hand surgeon cut the leader after seeing those fangs, but they are actually easy to handle by pressing on the gill covers.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had a busy tuna trip yesterday as three bluefins were boated up to 100 pounds — but 18 were lost, including some at boatside. There were also a dozen 5-10-pound bluefish caught, and a thresher shark of 250-300 pounds broke off.  They were back at the local chumming today and did well with chub mackerel, blues, sea bass and ling.

Capt. Dave Riback found dirty water offshore Sunday with his Queen Mary from Point Pleasant, but moved back inside to chum chub mackerel that were joined by blackfin sharks and bonito — plus what he called a very unusual ribbonfish. See lower right photo below among those taken that day.

That’s a common name for the cutlassfish, one of the oddest species in the world — but a widely-distributed fish found not only in the Atlantic but also in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. To top it off, cutlassfish are normally a nocturnal fish.

I became quite familiar with cutlassfish while serving as a Navy officer at the U.S. Naval Station in Trinidad, West Indies. They were the most common species caught under the lights at our piers, and were easy to catch by jigging small silvery metals or on the small live baits that also gathered under the lights. There didn’t appear to be much flesh on the flat sides, but the Trinidadians said they were very good eating.

According to McClane’s Field Guide to Saltwater Fishes of North America, these fang-toothed fish with only a filament tail grow to about 38 inches and a weight of about 2 pound. I missed out on another “trash fish” world record long before the IGFA began accepting any species, as my personal record is a 45-incher caught on the night of Oct. 16, 1961 at Pier 5. That cutlassfish weighed 3 1/4 pounds on my hand scale.

I also caught them at night along the Texas coast on lures, where ribbonfish are prized as trolling bait for big king mackerel. At dawn in Venezuela I saw local skiffs returning with fish boxes full of cutlassfish caught in the depths at night, and watched the cleaning of a swordfish caught by Guy Harvey that was full of cutlassfish. Ironically, those long fish weren’t in a jumbled mess in the stomach, but neatly stacked side by side as if someone had arranged them like that.

Mike Casella flew up from Sarasota to fish from shore for stripers with Vinny D’Anton, who got him into fishing during the winter in Florida. Unfortunately, the last two days haven’t worked out well for that effort. Vinny did raise a few bass to his Chug Bug at Manasquan this morning, but only one was hooked — and it got off just before being landed. Mike has one more morning to come up with a northern fish.

Allen Riley of South Plainfield said there was a pick of short fluke yesterday morning in the Sandy Hook surf, and small bait was in the wash. However, black flies also made a showing.

At Belmar, the Golden Eagle had a good Monday catch of blues, chub mackerel and sea bass, but are further out at sea on a tuna trip today. The Big Mohawk had some fluke limits Monday, and a pool winner of about 7 1/2 pounds. Jigging was most effective.

Though the swell creates a slightly rough surf, light winds continue to prevail. It should be south at 10 knots in the morning, but there’s a possibility of thunder storms in the afternoon.

Though all the anglers competing in Saturday’s Point Pleasant Elks Fluke Tournament couldn’t come up with a fluke larger than 8.6 pounds, Capt. Vinnie Veter of Katfish from Great Kills did much better the day before by weighing in the largest doormat of the year I’ve heard of so far — while he was running a striper charter in the Hudson River.

A really large doormat can swallow a live adult bunker, and that’s what this one did. It was weighed at the Soft Mud Yacht Yacht Club at 15 pounds, 6 ounces.

The fish was hooked by the mate and passed to a charter member, and they never realized what they had until it was at boatside. Though not eligible for any contests, it was bigger than Capt. John Contello’a 14-pounder from NY/NJ Bight — and well over The Fisherman magazine Dream Boat +Fishing Challenge leader (which covers the coast from N.C. to Maine) of 13.6 pounds as of 7/16/19.

Vetere emphasizes that he’s a striper skipper and doesn’t want any fluke charters as this catch was truly a shot in the dark. He may have room for one angler tomorrow, and has more room on upcoming trips.

The powerboat winners of the Elks contest were listed in this morning’s blog. In addition, there were veteran’s prizes in that division. Overall winner Nick Polacco  added $1,000 to his winnings with the 8.6-pounder. Frank Vander Beth was second in both and added $500 with his 7.4-pounder. Frank Fishler won $250 in vet’s money for a third place 5.55-pounder. W. Vander Noot won $175 for his fourth place 4.5-pounder, and Kevin Allmann had a 4.4-pound fluke worth $75 for fifth.

Bob Matthews, at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar reports small stripers are in the surf at dawn and dusk, Party boats are doing well with bonito and small blues offshore, and picking some keeper fluke inshore. The biggest fluke weighed this week was a 9 1/2-pounder by John Bovie of Neptune. Snappers are providing action for kids at the docks, and tuna remain a good bet offshore.

Joe Melillo at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant said epoxy jigs are producing cocktail blues in the surf before the sun gets high.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reports crabbing in the bay is hot after a slow start.  Cocktail blues are hitting mullet or small pieces of bunker in the surf, while kingfish prefer Fishbites. Gulp is the ticket for surf fluke,

South winds at 10 knots are predicted for the morning before increasing to 15-20 in the afternoon,

Official results of Saturday’s Point Pleasant Elks Fluke Tournament were finally posted on their web site this morning as follows:

Power Boat Results

The opening event in the big money offshore trolling tournaments didn’t go very well as there were some sloppy seas from an offshore storm though winds inshore were generally light. Some results finally were posted on the tournament web site, though there’s never been a leaderboard so no weights are available.

The 30 boats entered only caught 50 fish in two days of trolling. White marlin led the way with one brought in and 27 released. There were also four blue marlin releases, while smaller game fish were scarce with just 11 tuna and seven dolphin.

The only other information posted was for winnings. The Grand Champion Crazy Tuna won  a purse of $42,316, and they were also Tuna Champion for $17,048. Melina was the White Marlin Champion for $19,590.  The Blue Marlin Champ was Big Dog for $8,344. If weights are ever posted I’ll add that information.

As sparse as the WMIT info was, the Point Pleasant Elks hadn’t posted any official results of Saturday’s Fluke Tournament before I did this blog. I did talk to one participant who thought that the winners were only around 8 and 8 1/2 pounds.

The Jamaica from Brielle has room on their 40-70-mile tuna trip which departs at 12:30 a.m. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

The Jamaica ended up with another good bonito trip after a slow start on Friday — plus the first jumbo bluefish I’ve heard of in the ocean so far. They only picked a few bonito, blues and chub mackerel in the morning, but everyone loaded up on bonito with jigs in the afternoon when Tom Rosenberger of Souderton, Pa. also hooked a 12 1/4-pound blue. Ten to 20 bonito often followed up the hooked fish.

Phil Fischer reports running across dirty brown water and lots of floating trash on his way out to the Mud Hole on Friday  from Highlands. There were also bait schools in that area. He and his brother ended up drifting wrecks in at least 120 feet to load up on ling. With the wind blowing Saturday, they decided to go crabbing in the Navesink River — which was outstanding.

Small craft warnings are up now, but by Monday morning the forecast is for southwest at 5-10 knots before increasing in the afternoon to 10-15 with gusts to 25 knots.

I gave the Manasquan surf a try this morning, and released a 23-inch striper on a small Yo-Zuri popper. Not very big, but any striper on a popper is a thrill — especially in the summer surf. Oshane Kerlew was walking by and snapped the following shot.

Capt. Joe Massa made a “one and done” throw of his castnet this morning before we started drifting for stripers in the Hudson River with live bunkers from his My Three Sons out of Morgan Marina. There were no marks, but working very small spots got us into stripers.

The bass were modest in size, with a couple even being under legal size (which is unusual when using such large live baits), but we ended up releasing 10 which all shot to bottom when set free despite the very warm waters.  The largest was my 36-incher pictured below.

We’d been hearing reports of some large fluke being caught nearby in a Staten Island woman’s tournament, and later tried jigging for them to no avail. We each dropped a possible keeper and Joe caught a short — but it appeared stripers were a much better target for us. Though light winds were forecast until Sunday afternoon,, a south wind of at least 15 knots came up early in the afternoon and produced whitecaps in Ambrose Channel.

The White Marlin Invitational web site is a mess, with the leaderboard still listed as “in progress” as this was written. I’ll try to get the results tomorrow.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported bonito fishing was slower than it’s been, though they also picked some blues — with all of the action on jigs and teasers.

The 50th anniversary White Marlin Invitational, sponsored by the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club, got off to a slow start Wednesday when all 30 boats entered decided not to head offshore into a “sporty” sea. Then just three fished Thursday in still choppy conditions. Their results were poor, with only one released white marlin plus small tuna and dolphin.

The good news is that means almost the entire fleet will be fishing today and tomorrow in what appear to be better conditions to conclude the contest for over $106,000 in prize money. I’ll have an update after the scales close this evening.

The 25th anniversary Point Pleasant Elks Fluke Tournament will be contested Saturday in a weather forecast of light winds that should allow entrants to fish anywhere they wish. The captains meeting is 7-9 p.m. today at the Elks  Lodge, 820 Arnold Ave. in Point Pleasant. The late entry fees are $195 per powerboat with up to four anglers, and $65 in the Kayak Division.  For info call 732 899-7638.

Pete Connell of Avon had a poor report on yesterday’s fluke fishing from his boat out of Neptune as he and Don Smith managed only one keeper plus few and very small shorts from many of his favorite drops. The only positive was all the schools of bait spotted and marked — though nothing was on them.

The Jamaica from Brielle has been doing very well on daily 7:30 a.m. bonito trips, but that boat is chartered Saturday. They will also turn to tuna on Monday, July 29 with a 12:30 a.m. departure to the 40-70-mile area for $285 with a limit of 25. The return will be at 5 p.m.  Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

The Mimi VI from Point Pleasant will be fishing open for bottom fish on Thursday, Aug. 1. The fare is $75 for the 7 a.m. trip. Call 732 370-8019 for reservations.

The first surf report of little tunny was from Bay Head late yesterday afternoon as a school of bait was blasted in close.  Bob Correll and Jim Gates were only able to catch a few cocktail blues, but identified both Spanish mackerel and little tunny jumping at the same time.  The bait was there again this morning, but only a few very small blues were hooked as Spanish mackerel were seen jumping further offshore.

Shark River bluefish only cooperated on poppers for a very short period early this morning as the few of us fishing each caught a few 3-4-pounders on poppers before they shut off with the current still running hard.  Vinny D’Anton tried the Manasquan surf, but found no fish or bait.

You never know when some fish may turn on. Allen Riley sent a note from Dan Brodzinski (Dan the Tinman from Piscataway) who was sitting on the beach with his wife under the hot sun this morning at Seven President’s Park in Long Branch when he decided to do some casting and caught a short fluke — before he hooked into a 7-8-pound striper!

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported another good day of jigging blues, bonito and chub mackerel. They suggest you bring light spinning tackle for best results and the most sport.

Following is info and registration materials for the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association Catfish Chaos Derby next month.

Saturday August 17, 2019 GRAND PRIZES $500 First Place $250 Second Place $125 Third Place Kids’ Prizes to 3rd Place (Youth Under 16-years old) Rod & Reel Combos, fishing gear, etc. Scholarship Division (Any Participant Under 18-years old) $250 First Place $150 Second Place $100 Third Place Additional prizes awarded at each weigh station the day of the Derby. All proceeds to benefit the HRFA Scholarship Fund and Youth Angler Program. Cost to register is $20 for Adult and just $10 for youth under the age of 16. $10 to sponsor a youth angler. CLICK HERE FOR ON-LINE REGISTRATION Fishing begins 12:01AM & ends at 3:00PM Fish anywhere on the Hudson River from boat or shore Weigh stations open at 8:00AM Fish must be alive at check-in. Dead fish count at half the length. Prior to 8:00AM take photo of fish and text to 845-300-1562 to register time caught then bring fish to the most convenient weigh station. Multiple (8) weigh stations located up and down the river for your convenience. Grand Prizes Awards Ceremony location and time to be determined. Weigh Stations Coeyman’s Landing Marina River View Marina Rondout Yacht Basin River Front Marina Haverstraw Marina Piermont Pier Westerly Marina Yonkers’ Waterfront Westerly Marina in Ossining, NY is stepping up to the plate again to support this event. Click on the logo above to visit their website. Just like last year they will donate a brand new Mercury 2.5HP 4-stroke outboard motor. Every adult registered to fish the Derby will be eligible to win. Each angler’s name placed into a hat and one lucky name will be pulled from the hat at the Awards Ceremony. Ya gotta be in it to win it. For further info contact the Derby organizer Scott Havner by phone at 845-300-1562 or email him at fishon7231@verizon.net. For detailed rules and updates visit us on Facebook @ HRFA Catfish Chaos Derby and www.hrfanj.org. Be sure to check the July & August issues of River Views too! ‌ Some of the other great prizes available . . . A lucky youth angler will have a chance to win this Okuma rod and reel combo at this year’s Catfish Chaos Derby thanks to River Basin Sport Shop in Catskill, NY. If you’re fishing in the Catskill area make sure you stop in and check out this great tackle shop. You gotta be in it to win it. So sign up now! The HRFA would like to thank Ramsey Outdoors for returning as a sponsor for this years Catfish Chaos Derby on August 17th. Their sponsorship last year put a lot of smiles on many of our youth anglers. 12 lucky kids walked away with a great Plano tackle box. Welcome back and thank you Ramsey Outdoors! The HRFA would like to thank Daiwa Corp for once again sponsoring this years Catfish Chaos Derby on August 17th. You have to be in it to win so register now! Hudson River Fishermen’s Association 3rd Annual Catfish Chaos Derby Saturday August 17, 2019 Starts 12:01am & Ends 3:00pm Entry Form (Please Print Clearly) Name: _________________________________________________ Address Street: _________________________________________________ Town: _________________________ State: _______ Zip: _______ Cell Phone: __________ E-mail: ______________________________ Please indicate desired Entry Fee option: ____ Adult: $20.00 each ____ Child under age 16: $10.00 each ____ Sponsor a child: $10.00 each Make Checks Payable to: “HRFA Catfish Chaos Derby” Mail to: H.R.F.A. P.O. Box 421 Cresskill, NJ 07626 Or … Mail to: H.R.F.A. P.O. Box 421 Piermont, NY 10968 Full Disclaimer The undersigned angler (“Angler”) on behalf of himself/herself and personal representatives, assigns, heirs, executors, and successors hereby fully and forever releases, waives, and discharges the H.R.F.A. and all sponsoring or cosponsoring companies, organizations or individuals related to the Derby (collectively “Releasees”) from all liability to the Angler and his/her personal representatives, assigns, heirs, executors and successors for loss(es), damage(s), claims thereof on account of injury to Angler or his/her property or the resultant death of Angler whether caused by active or passive negligence of the Releasees or otherwise, in connection with the Angler’s participation in the Derby (“Losses”), and further covenants not to sue any of the aforementioned parties for such Losses. Angler is fully aware of the risks and hazards inherent in participating in the Derby and elects to voluntarily participate. Angler hereby assumes all risks of loss(es), damage(s), or injury(ies) that may be sustained by him/her while participating in the Derby. Angler represents and warrants to the Releasees that he/she is in good physical condition and is able to safely participate in the Derby. Angler warrants that all statements made herein are true and accurate and understands that Releasees have relied on them in allowing Angler to participate in the Derby. ANGLER HAS READ THE FOREGOING AND INTENTIONALLY AND VOLUNTARILY SIGNS THE GENREAL RELEASE, WAIVER OF LIABILITY AND PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT. Angler’s Signature: ___________________________________ Date: _______ 2019 HRFA CATFISH CHAOS DERBY RULES 1. Fishing in the Hudson River and tributaries only. 2. Event will be held rain or shine. 3. Only channel catfish, white catfish, and bullheads will be counted. 4. Fish can only be caught using a rod and reel. 5. Fish will be checked-in by length. 6. Fishing from shore and boat allowed. 7. Fish must be alive at check-in. The HRFA promotes catch and release therefore dead fish count at half the length. 8. One entry per angler. Largest fish checked-in counts. 9. Fishing starts at 12:01am and ends at 3:00pm. You must be at weigh station by 3:15pm. 10. Ties are determined by time of catch. Early fish wins. 11. Check-in starts at 8:00am. Fish caught prior to 8:00am send photo of fish to 845-300-1562 for time stamp of catch. You must still check fish in to count. 12. Registration ends at 8:00pm Friday August 16th . 13. Prize structure is subject to change. 14. All New York and New Jersey rules and regulations apply depending on state fished. 15. The Hudson River Fishermen’s Association and all sponsors are released from any and all claims, demands, or causes of action arising out of or resulting from any participation in this derby. 16. All decisions of the derby committee are final. We’d like to acknowledge the following companies for supporting this year’s Catfish Chaos Derby. Please thank them with your patronage. Click on their logos to shop on-line. H.R.F.A. | Website ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Frank Huza of Aberdeen fished aboard the Queen Mary out of Point Pleasant today and was delighted with the results. They ran 90 minutes to the east where fishing was poor, and Frank only caught one 3-pound blue. However, a move 30 minutes to the south put them into solid bonito, Using size 2 light wire hooks and spearing for bait put 14 bonito into Frank’s cooler. Bonito were often seen flashing in the slick.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar also reported a good day with blues, bonito and chub mackerel as most of their fish were jigged though many mackerel were on bait.

Allen Riley of South Plainfield tried the Sandy Hook surf, and found the summer doldrums continuing there this morning. One regular noted that he caught a 20-inch cobia there last week — which is half the size required for a keeper.

Tommy Cox did better than that at Spring Lake as he caught three school stripers on his popper. Best of all, he saw peanut bunker, and talked to a fluke fishermen who said that’s what he’s been finding in his keepers.

Vinny D’Anton stayed in Shark River yesterday morning after a slow start and got into a bite of blues up to a 12-pounder plus bass on his Chug Bug under the sun as the tide turned to incoming.  It wasn’t likely that there would be a repeat of that an hour later today — and there wasn’t! Fortunately, there was some life earlier as I caught a blue of about 7 pounds on a Pili Popper, and three more of 3-4 pounds plus a 22-inch striper.  Joe Blaze of Brielle came down with his fly rod and released a school striper on his first cast. That’s often the kiss of death — and he never got another hit.

The White Marlin Invitational is underway, and continues out of Beach Haven through Saturday. Dick Ridley of the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club said there are 30 boats fishing for a purse of over $106,000. All took a lay day yesterday in a choppy sea, and only two of the larger boats fished today. I’ll post results as they become available.

The Point Pleasant Elks must be breathing a sigh of relief with the National Marine Weather Service forecast showing no winds over 10 knots until Sunday afternoon. Last year’s weather at this time was so windy that the fluke tournament on Saturday had to be postponed — and the outlook for Sunday was no better. As of today, the inshore forecast is for north at 10 knots tomorrow morning, dropping to 5 in the afternoon. Friday starts at 5 knots from the north and shifts to south at the same speed in the afternoon.

John De Bona, of The Fisherman magazine, took his grandchildren fluking at the south end of Point Pleasant Canal this morning, where they enjoyed good action with short fluke on the pier at the end of Bay Avenue. With a 3/8-ounce jig from Castaways Tackle down the block in Point Pleasant and Fishbites he got the kids into a bite that produced five fluke for (Nico Dufkis (6) of Westfield that included one which might have made 18 inches but shook off as John lifted it. Rocco (8) added another short fluke. John said there were lots of crabs being caught there.

Capt. Vinnie Vetere reports striper fishing from his Katfish out of Great Kills has been good. He’s running open tomorrow, and is also available Friday and Sunday.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported decent fishing for bonito, blues and chub mackerel after the early northeast wind settled out.

The 25th Anniversary Point Pleasant Elks Fluke Tournament has no where to go but up after last year’s weather disaster that resulted in a cancellation. A cash payout of $40,000 is anticipated in the Powerboat Division based on a minimum of 250 entries — and there should be about $30,000 in Calcuttas in addition.

There’s also a Kayak Division with a catch and photograph format for the 12th time with product prizes.

Entry fees are $125 per powerboat with up to four anglers up to July 24, and $195 after that. Kayak entries are $50 by July 24, and $65 afterwards. There are also Veteran’s cash swards for those who show identification at the weigh-in. The captains meeting is on Friday in the Elks Lodge at 820 Arnold Ave. from 7-9 p.m.  For info call 732 899-7638 or visit http://www.pointpleasantelks.org

Shore fishing was slow today, but I released three blues in the 3-4-pound class on a small Yo-Zuri popper just before the downpour this morning in Shark River, and joined Bob Correll in the Bay Head surf late in the afternoon where we both released two small blues on metal. Bob said he saw one Spanish mackerel jump in the wash.

AOL hasn’t let me open reports this evening. Will catch up tomorrow.

Paul Haertel reports that the JCAA will add another fluke tournament next month as follows:

“The Jersey Coast Anglers Association is pleased to announce that we will be running a second fluke tournament this summer on August 16th, 17th and 18th. We are going to try an exciting new format and see how much interest it generates. For seven years in a row, we have had bad weather or a bad weather forecast on the day of our tournament. Therefore, this tournament will run for three days with hope that we will have good weather on at least one day. We realize that not everyone can fish two or three days, so to be fair to everyone, each boat will be limited to fishing only one day. However, each entrant will be able to choose the day they fish. The other major change is that the 1st through 5th place prizes will be based on the total weight of each entrant’s three largest fluke. This will take some of the luck factor out of the tournament and we are also limiting the number of anglers to 4 per boat to keep it a level playing field. Based on a minimum of 250 boats, 1st place will be $5000, 2nd place $2500, 3rd place $1500 and there will be gift certificates from our sponsors for 4th and 5th place. Additionally, there will be a $1000 prize for the largest fluke in caught in the tournament. We will also have $50 and $100 three fluke Calcuttas, $50 and $100 single fluke Calcuttas and even a $50 single seabass Calcutta.
The Jersey Coast Anglers Association is pleased to announce that we will be running a second fluke tournament this summer on August 16th, 17th and 18th. We are going to try an exciting new format and see how much interest it generates. For seven years in a row, we have had bad weather or a bad weather forecast on the day of our tournament. Therefore, this tournament will run for three days with hope that we will have good weather on at least one day. We realize that not everyone can fish two or three days, so to be fair to everyone, each boat will be limited to fishing only one day. However, each entrant will be able to choose the day they fish. The other major change is that the 1st through 5th place prizes will be based on the total weight of each entrant’s three largest fluke. This will take some of the luck factor out of the tournament and we are also limiting the number of anglers to 4 per boat to keep it a level playing field. Based on a minimum of 250 boats, 1st place will be $5000, 2nd place $2500, 3rd place $1500 and there will be gift certificates from our sponsors for 4th and 5th place. Additionally, there will be a $1000 prize for the largest fluke in caught in the tournament. We will also have $50 and $100 three fluke Calcuttas, $50 and $100 single fluke Calcuttas and even a $50 single seabass Calcutta.