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Fishing News

Fish On! No Excuses

ron_nuzzolo.jpgNasty weather and a big drop in temperature mean fall striped bass season is official. With the exception of a little swell and some muddy water Captain Ron?s Fishermen from Sandy Hook was able to kick off the season with a few early fall keepers. Captain Ron found bass willing to bite and a great sign for more to come in the next few weeks. Captain Ron's main focus from here on in is getting on the fish and getting his patrons in on all the action.

With the latest reports Garden State anglers are all ready to go and waiting for a break in weather for a shot at a trophy bass. The next few weeks should be a bass blitz as the temperatures start to cool down. The key here is to be prepared on stand- by, stay on top of the tides, weather and look for the latest bay and surf fishing reports. Web Sites like www.NJSaltwaterfisherman.com now have mobile upload fishing reports and video streams of all the action from Garden State anglers willing to share the information (and bragging rights) from a boat or the surf as it happens. No excuses get ready for your trophy fall bass.

Fisherwomen?
My good friend Pete Johnson from the International Game and Fishing Association (IGFA.org) wanted to remind me that not all great catches are from just men but also women are quite active in the pursuit of IGFA World Records.  So for the September Hot Catches we lead off with a trio of female record setters and their recent fishing accomplishments now before the IGFA world records committee reviewing potential new records from across the globe.

A young lady angler who has held 81 world records and who is adept with fly gear, Heather Michelle Harkavy, of Coral Springs, Florida landed a greater amberjack on July 12, weighing in at 27 lb 0 oz while fishing off McClellanville, South Carolina. This powerful fish took her 30 minutes to land and qualifies for the women?s 20 lb tippet record. The current IGFA record is 24 lb 0 oz from Florida?s Dry Tortugas, in 2002....

Read more: Fish On! No Excuses

NJ False Albies Prove Positive

ron_nuzzolo.jpgIt?s an amazing time to fish the Jersey shore, from Barnegat Bay to the Raritan big bluefish and false albacore have been causing havoc on light tackle. Down south Captain Steve Purul from Reel Fantasea charters in Barnegat is the first indicator for an amazing fall season about to begin. Captain Steve has been sitting on a variety of fish, blues, false albies, stripers, blow fish, and other bottom species he is still trying to identify. Captain Steve said the abundant inshore false albacore action has been one of the best he has fished in years. The power and speed of a false albacore is the closest you can get to fight a tuna this close to shore. Reel Fantasea Charters is in the thick of things and as Captain Steve said ?these normally offshore species are now literally within a stone throw from the beach ?. With an amazing season about to begin don't miss out on some the best action found anywhere. Captain Steve offers open boat trips for anyone who loves to fish so check him out at www.reelfantaseafishing.com

false_albi.jpgCaptain Allen aboard Reel Class Charters from Pt. Pleasant had a few run-ins as well. The crew hooked into gator size blues taking bait before a frenzy of false albies took over and kept them fighting for a while. Great action on light spinning rods and the crew had fish on most of the day feeding right behind the boat. All albies took spearing or tsunami soft plastics.
Raritan Bay anglers did well from the Ammo Pier to Sandy Hook and across to the Verrazano side, false albies and big blues have been in hot pursuit, chasing big schools of spearing most of the week. Remember these fish are feeding on spearing so diamond jigs, soft plastics and most metal lures will do well. Stay on all the action log onto www.njsaltwaterfisherman.com/forums

Albies are powerful and super fast. Usually you only get a few casts at albies before they out run you. What we are experiencing right now is an angler?s dream .With big bluefish and albies rounding up bait fish, marinas and docks all over the shore are starting to swell with bait like spearing, peanut bunker and sand eels. Bait fish know they are trapped and most anglers see the signs and can smell it in the air. They are starting to lose sleep at night. Dreaming about what tackle they need, what days they can take off from work and even talking to themselves. Some will take the scenic route home from work in hopes of seeing birds working off the beach, just because they are hooked on fishing. Bass are coming are you ready?
Fish On!
Ron Nuzzolo

Canyon Tuna Fishing - Are You Ready !

ron_nuzzolo.jpgFishing remains a bit slow. With warm waters most fish will shut down and look for deeper cooler waters. Drifting for fluke and sea bass remain the only game in town. Piers, docks and rock piles are continuing to produce small snappers, porgies and all the crabs you can scoop up within reach. Anglers are coming across a few small weakfish but no solid reports yet. With warm bay waters in August, baitfish like spearing and sand eels are thriving which is always a good sign for the fall.

If you?re not fishing for fluke or sea bass then you are looking at two options.

Option one:
wait until the waters cool down and get ready for fall bass and blues.

 

Option two: break open the check book and take a shot in the canyons for tuna.


A charter in the canyons can run anywhere from $350 to $600 per angler, but worth every dollar to the experienced angler. Fishing the canyons is all about preparation. Being prepared is half the battle. Your Health being the most important factor. You need to be in decent shape if you plan on fighting any offshore fish. Finding the right day, weather, tuna reports, water temperature and even the moon are all equally important when fishing the canyons. Food, ice, bait, fuel and tackle add up quick and can cost you several hundred dollars before you even touch a fishing pole. Finding the right captain is everything. Do your homework and talk to the captain you choose, make sure you are both on the same page.

The canyons are not a place for amateurs. You can have everything lined up, weather, great captain, excellent reports and the day you get out there the bite is turned off. To enjoy a trip to the canyons the captain?s experience will make all the difference in the world. Every angler who has experienced the canyon will have a great story to tell, you will never forget your trip to the canyons.

 Canyon Bluefin Tuna
NJSWF Bob Maehrlein with a nice Bluefin Tuna caught aboard The Phyliis Ann

The canyons are a place equivalent to the Serengeti?s of Tanzania or the to the Amazon jungle. For the most part you are about a hundred miles offshore which leaves you no room for error. You need to be prepared for everything and anything. A hundred miles from Sandy Hook and its like National Geographic in your own back yard. Whales and dolphins for as far as the eye can see can appear and disappear in minutes. Whale sharks, giant sea turtles, schools of big squid can light up all around the boat. Sharks by the dozen can show up like a hungry pack of hyenas and keep tuna away from the boat all night. The biggest problem is other boats. What looks like a city of lights the Canyon is a huge place but anglers will jockey into position for water temperature and water depth. This is where an experienced captain makes all the difference between a bad trip and an amazing lifetime experience.  (Read More)

Read more: Canyon Tuna Fishing - Are You Ready !

NJ Bluefish Are Back

ron_nuzzolo.jpg
With the 2010 Fluke season behind us, garden state anglers have been itching for a real fight. Bluefish are back and stronger than ever and for most a fight long overdue. This week the Raritan Bay produced blues from two to six pounds with plenty of bunker pods along the Staten Island side to keep things interesting.

Over the weekend bigger blues kept about a few hundred boats at the Mud buoy- 17 fathom mark busy fighting fish. Most boats anchored up and started a chum slick to get right down to some serious light tackle fishing.

If you plan on a trip to the mud buoy make sure you load up on plenty of wire leader hooks, Big blues will test your arms and your tackle. Ocean temperatures were around 68 to 70 degrees and the mud buoy will only get better as these fish will hang around for a while and start to fatten up before heading south. If you?re looking for a few fights to pick now is the time to do it and the night time bite at 17 fathoms is always a crazy good time. Take it from me, get a few friends together, pick a boat and give it a shot at the mud buoy for night blues. This is always a great outing and usually one you will not forget for a while.

The Mud buoy is a favorite fishing spot for charters because it is a very large area with plenty of elbow room for even a weekend blitz of 200 plus boats. The bottom has lots of high and low spots fort fish to patrol. With a large variety of bait fish, blues are extra aggressive and with depths ranging from 50 to 100 feet these bruisers have plenty of room to run. Anglers on light tackle spinners and bait runners will tell you there is nothing better than getting these gator size fish in your chum slick. Once you get these fish around the boat and feeding they will become relentless. For any angler young or old they were probably hooked on fishing the day they hooked their first Jersey blue.

Fish On!
Ron Nuzzolo

Doormat Taken from the Manasquan Inlet Wall

steves_doormat_01.jpgThe fish was caught By Steve O'Connor on Monday August 2, 2010 on the Point Pleasant Beach side of the Manasquan Inlet at the Wall.  The fish was weighed in at Alex's B&T(literally broke a scale flopping around Grin) at 12 1/2 lbs 32 1/2 inches.  "I just couldn't believe the size of it when we first saw it," says Steve.
Steve was fishing all afternoon casting more than half way across the Inlet.  It was at least half way out across the inlet when the fish hit the yellow gulp around low tide. "At first, I thought it might have been a big blue or weakie, but after a few minutes, I realized it wasn't pulling like either one. The fish did make three goods runs on me when first hooked. I actually tightened down on the drag 3 times, worrying the same time that a boat wasn't going to come buy because I was actually casting about half way across the river like I was all afternoon when he hit."  
Steve had assistance from a fellow fisherman and his wife netting and landing the fish since he only had a 4 foot net and the low tide line is way below 4 feet.  "I believe it was the guys wife who grabbed a hold of my legs to keep me from falling over. I kept saying to this guy that were only going to get one shot at getting this fish in the net. When i was finally able to turn the fish, the guy with my net was barely hanging onto the last part of the handle and we got it in head first," writes Steve recapping the great catch"...Hardest part was when I got him to the wall, I could hardly raise. Had to carefully grab the rod with one hand up near the first eye on the pole and lift slow and steady."