Last Trip of '07

I headed down the Parkway to exit 98 for the last trip of '07-as I normally do as if I were off to go fishing. It was a very sad 45 minute drive...I knew there would be no fishing trip but just repair, maintenance and improvement work to be done on the boat.

The marina was quiet with only the few in-water storage boats left bobbing the chilly 41 degree waters. A small 13' tender did go past in the creek, not sure what he was thinking being out int hat cold water with a boat like that.

After talking to Tommy for a while and then helping Ryan setup his ice eater I decided I have to get some work done as much as I did not want to.

On the to do list today was a short list of small things but they all included removing the head liner which is a PIA. You have to take down the stereo, satellite radio, GPS and fishfinder prior to taking down the headline that is held up by the chart rack, and numerous strips of teak.

Once down I proceeded with running a new duplex wire to power the CO2 alarm, let out a length of coiled GPS sensor wire and installed and auxiliary speaker for the VHF to the starboard side of the helm seat. The proceeded to put the headliner, teak and electronics back up.

I still have to connect the CO2 alarm, fuse and circuit breaker together but the hard part is done running the wiring. Same with the VHF speaker.

It is too bad the rain let up early in the day. I had planned on working the entire day inside the pilothouse due to the morning rain. Otherwise I would have washed and polished the boat, it was in the mid 50's and quite pleasant all day.

Hopefully in the coming weeks the weather will be fair again after this cold front coming in the next few days and we will be able to get the raw water pickup and sea strainer installed.

Merry Christmas!

I hope Santa was good to everyone. He was good to me...although he did not bring a new 4 man offshore life raft he did bring a few new things for the boat. For starters he brought a Fluke mini infra-red thermometer. This will come in really handy in reading surface temps at any speed, especially with my transducer thermometers on the fritz.

I also got a new horn for the hailer and a macerator pump. It will be so nice to not have to climb halfway into the fish box to clean it out anymore. And also not have to remember to put the plug in so the blood, guts, scales and regurgitation does not end up in the bilge.

The 2008 tide and current table books were also under the tree, but not Eldridge this year...somehow left it off my list. I did get some money for Christmas so that will be one thing it is used for.

One of the stocking stuffers that I can't wait to try out is a new pair of gloves...they are supposed to be waterproof. We will see. I have tried probably two dozen so far that claim to be waterproof and are not. So far the best for warmth and being completely waterproof are the Kenai gloves from Glacier Glove. They are a little bulky and slight pain to take off and on when you need to tie knots. But you hands will never be cold and wet with them.

Merry Christmas!

If You Can't Fish Might as Well Look

Since we are now on the hard and Will be doing repairs, maintenance and improvements till February if we can't fish or use the boat we might as well look. I will be heading up to the NY National Boat show. I have given up going due to the cost of going and the lack of boats, tackle and accessories. But this year I received two free tickets so I am going to make the trip.

It will actually be good to see some of the new sportfish type boats that should be on display this year. That and what I really want to do is spend some time picking the brains of the safety gears vendors. I am starting to do my research on purchasing a raft and what better time and place than when most of the major manufacturers and bigger vendors of them will be all in one place.

So far I have been fortunate enough to borrow a raft from friends when needed. But I would prefer to have one on the boat always and this year I am going to take that step. The first big decision I made was to go with a canister model that will get mounted on the pilothouse roof. This will serve two purposes. One it will free up precious space in the pilothouse and two it will allow for auto-deployment in the event of a sudden sinking or capsizing.

Lets be realistic, if the boat were to capsize, and in frigid water what would the likely hood of someone getting into the pilothouse to retrieve the raft, exit and deploy it. The canister style makes deployment much easier in more dire situations. I will just have to be careful with placement in preparation to add a radar unit.

For those still in the water, good luck, fish on and stay safe.

Winter Cleaning

It was a sad day today...I removed all my gear from the boat. Cleaned the wheelhouse and the bilge. There is something to be said for a bilge area that you can eat off of. For one, you know right away if there is a leak of any kind as it is clearly visible. I am fortunate that my entire aft bilge area is gel coated. It makes for quick and easy cleaning.

I usually take the all the cushions from the dinette and v-berth out and shampoo them but I had no idea I had so much gear on the boat. Last year I was able to fit the gear and the cushions in the truck. This year I could barely fit all the gear, and I actually left a few things on the boat and in the dock box. I think I am going to have to trim that down for next year.

Now begins the task of going through all the gear checking it to make sure it is up to snuff and storing it till the spring...well March anyway. Restocking tackle, checking all the rods, breaking down each reel and servicing them. Lots of work to be done. It is worth the effort though, makes the season go smoothly with perfectly functioning gear.

Thanks Everyone for a Great Season!

I just want to thank everyone we had out this year. It was a great season, we caught tons of fish , had a great time and made some memories. Out of the 50 plus trips only once did we return to the dock without catching a single fish and only three times without anything in the box!

Originally I was not planning on coming out of the water due to the weather but since my chronic running hot issue needs to be rectified we pulled her yesterday. She is winterized and on a trailer waiting for a high speed raw water pickup and sea strainer retrofit. I received all the parts yesterday and should be doing the install weather permitting next Tuesday. If all goes well, the weather stays mild and bass stick around we should be re-splashing her soon!

What really surprised me though was that my zincs were pretty well intact. None of the metals, (drive, trim tabs, through hulls, risers, manifolds, etc.) show any electrolysis either. Strange because the previous year I had to have them replaced mid season and I was in the water for less time. IN any event I will be replacing them regardless since we will be adding a substantial amount of bronze to the equation with the new through hull, sea cock, sea strainer and three 90 degree elbows.

Will Mate for Boarding Pass

Arrrgggg.....being tied up and soon to be on the hard is killing me. With the fall run just getting into high gear and some of the best weather in the last two months I am out of commission. Hopefully someone in the marina is sailing on Sunday and I can jump aboard and get at least one more striper trip under my belt. I would like to get into some bigger fish before they are gone. This fall all we have seen basically is schoolies.

At the very least I should be running down to Indian River soon for a blackfish slaughter on the Bandit. They do well every year down there and the average fish for them is a trophy in Central NJ.

Chronic Overheating Problem

We looked into the chronic overheating issue and so far have come up empty handed. Checked the heat exchanger-nothing clogging it. Checked the raw water impeller-in excellent condition, not burnt and not missing any vanes. Checked the raw water pump-excellent condition. Checked all the hoses-free and clear and fastened tightly. Checked the thermostat-operating fine.

The only other thing it could be is a clogged or broken intake on the outdrive. Since I have not hit anything since last haul out that I know if it being broken or cracked is not likely. There is a possibility it is clogged but then it would overheat all the time. Last Saturday the motor was running for over 4 hours before we had a problem.

Volvo-Penta had service bulletins on other drive models for chronic overheat problems in heavy load/use applications. For my drive however there are no such bulletins.

After speaking to several mechanics they suggest installing a similar kit to Volvo's sea water strainer kit for the DPX drive overheating issue. Basically it bypasses the raw water pickups in the drive using a high speed raw water pickup thru-hull and intake sea strainer like on an inboard engine. This has several advantages. It is higher in the water column and less susceptible to picking up mud and debris churned up by the wheels and also allows for a visual inspection of how much debris is being picked up and when it needs to be cleaned.

After running this idea by a Vovlo-Penta dealer they say it will should not help the situation and I should just continue to clean out the heat exchanger when needed and not boat in an area where there may be weeds and mud. Unfortunately I think that rules out pretty much everywhere boats are present. I know the past few weeks we have had very low water but I had overheat issues when the water was very high.

The whole thing is very frustrating. I wish there was a bad part somewhere. At least then spending money on a fix makes sense. In this situation it is all speculation that it will fix the problem but it is speculation by the area's best mechanics so I have to go by their word.

I will probably be hauled out later this week or early next week and begin repairs and upgrades on the cooling system. If the weather is still somewhat mild and some bigger bass show up I will go back in the water for a while.

Where are the Larger Bass?

We broke the inlet about 6:30 and looked around. With no bird activity and no marks near the inlet we started to run South towards Seaside and IBSP. I had great reports from during the week from that area and with a spotty forecast we figured we would take the shorter run to the South over the longer run to the North.

We had constant bird activity all day but they were very temperamental. If anyone motored remotely close to them they would scatter. The smarter guys realized with the quick drift that you could stop 150-200 yards away and be on top of them in no time. We picked up a couple of shorts on the first couple of passes.

Once we learned that Eric had again brought a banana aboard and it was promptly offered to the fish gods we had a double hookup as soon as the offending fruit sank beyond view. It was pretty steady short action from there.

The birds broke up and there was scattered activity but did not seem worth chasing. At this point we decided to go on the troll. The wind had also shifted direction and was picking up a bit. We had fish on before we could get the second line in. A double header of shorts on a tube rig. We finally got both lines out and were heading inshore for a wind break and North towards home and the intermittent overheating issue decided to rear its ugly head.

After reeling in the lines, taking a beating in steep 4' seas drifting while looking into the issue she had cooled enough to test. Started her up pointed towards land and attempted to get up on top of the seas. Once up on plane the temp dropped to normal. We all decided to just pack it in and head for the barn.

Despite the mechanical troubles it was an enjoyable day on the water. We were greeted to flat calm seas early in the morning and once back above IBSP it was mainly just chop. My cousin had two personal bests with the short stripers-his largest bass to date and also the most caught in one trip. In the future we will be sure to frisk Eric to make sure he is not attempting to smuggle an offensive fruit on board.

I know the Cape May guys have twenty to forty pound bass stacked up down there. I have also heard reports that the CT and RI guys have big fish to the North. I wonder if we will see some bigger fish soon.

Sea\\Insure

I just got off the phone with Sea\\Insure, Sea\\Tow's new insurance company. I know several guys that have recently switched to them due to lower premiums for either the same coverage or more coverage than their current policies. I am not sure if it is an aggressive marketing push to get new customers and then jack up the rates. Sea\\Insure claims it is not. The only thing I can think of is that they are not including towing insurance because you must be a Sea\\Tow member to bind insurance coverage. I guess they can cut the cost of the premium by not including towing insurance. In my case for slightly more coverage from Sea\\Insure they are $205 less a year than Traveler's. Unfortunately I don't know anyone that has submitted a claim with them yet. $205 can buy a lot of bait and some fuel that is for sure, and I will be switching to them as soon as I dig out the necessary paperwork to document the purchase price of the boat and electronics. Check them out guys you might be pleasantly surprised!

http://www.seainsure.com/

11/24 & 25 Stripers

Saturday was a slaughter! I had fish all day, now the day was only about two and half hours of fishing but it was non stop action. I made quick stops at Shark River Inlet and the mussel beds of Monmouth Beach on my way up to the Rocks but there were only very small fish in both places.

Once at the rocks there were gannets diving everywhere! It was the mother load....and mostly bass. Most fish were 25-27", and in total I had about seventy fish with eighteen keepers. I kept three for the table and they were 10lb 9oz, 12lb 4oz and 12lb 10oz. And only five to seven bluefish, so few I did not bother to count.

I wish I could say Sunday was just as good but most likely due to the South winds and the full moon it was not. We headed to the same area and looked for marks and birds. The bait, fish and birds were scattered and it was difficult to stay on fish for any period of time. The water had also dropped three degrees since the day before. We had three bluefish and two short bass and that was it for the trip.

Later I heard that chartreuse shad rigs were producing on an East to West pull a little North of where we were. We gave it a shot but only had bluefish. There were also several boats that were attempting to pull North to South with the current and crossing everyone else that was going East to West and West to East making it very difficult to troll so we called it a day and headed towards home.

We did make a few more stops where we saw promising marks and birds, I had a couple of hookups but dropped the fish before getting them to the boat. Sunday was just not our day. And from the sound or the radio chatter and other reports I read later in the day it was an off day for most.

Another Successful Bass Trip

I arrived at the boat at 5:15 AM and it was cold...33 degrees and no wind to speak of. All of the flags within view were totally limp. The water level was very low due to the strong west winds and the gunwale was about six inches below the dock...luckily there was enough water to float out of the slip. We had to cancel a few trips last year this time due to not enough water to get out of the slip. I started the engine and started loading the day's gear onto the boat. Soon the engine was warmed up and with the heat on the pilothouse started warming up to a nice and toasty 68 degrees.

After finishing storing gear and readying some items for the trip we were ready to shove off. Once the crew arrived we were underway.

We broke the inlet about 6:15 just before sunrise. There were birds starting to take flight in anticipation of an easy meal. The fish finder was all lit up and we started jigging up shorts and bluefish right away. As soon as the sun started to rise above the water's edge the birds started diving and screeching. And the fleet of boats soon showed up. As it started getting more crowded we started moving south chasing the fast moving schools of migrating fish.

We continued to see fish breaking the surface all over and the spray of fleeing peanut bunker from the ravenous bluefish. Moving from pod to pod of bait we just followed the marks and jigged most of the day. Eventually we ended up off Top of the Mast where we had our best bite of the day. On one drift we produced about a dozen short bass, one nice 31" keeper and only one bluefish. Continuing to work that area produced non-stop action of mostly short bass with a few bluefish mixed in. At one point I reeled up leaving five or ten feet of line out, leaving my jig in the water to net Anthony's fish and a follower just slammed the jig.

By the end of the day we ended up just North of the bathing beach. We must have reached that area just as the bite died off as we had little luck in that area. It also started to cloud up a little more and the temperature was starting to drop. Which seemed to signal the end of the bite for us. We continued to work our way North and worked several schools of bait and fish but did not have the action that we had earlier in the day when it was a few degrees warmer. This seemed strange to me since the water was still 53 degrees. Usually we see this type of action when it is later in the year and the air and water temps are much cooler.

I would have included a picture of myself holding my fish here but there was an unforseen camera malfunction...or user error. We are not clear on what really happened.

It was a great day on the water with very pleasant sea conditions despite NOAA's forecast (no surprise there) and the non-stop action only topped off the day. We ended the day with a total of two keeper bass-with 9 and 12 pound fish. We had several that were between 1/4 and 1/8 of an inch short and about two dozen or so fish that were 26 to 27.5 inches in length. Mixed in were probably near 40 to 50 bluefish.

Our First Game Fish Catch!

We broke Manasquan Inlet at about 6:30 AM to birds working and fish breaking the surface. It was not long after dropping a jig to the bottom that I had my first fish on-a short striper. Then it occurred to me-just caught my first fish that has game fish status. We figured this is going to be a great day having striped bass to the boat right away. The more fish we hooked into the more blues we started to catch. Moving around with the birds and watching the sonar we were able to keep a steady pick going with bass mixed in with the blues.

Nino got his first bass of the season and almost his first keeper, there were a lot of fish 26-27" and a bunch that were less than 1/4" short. As always all short fish were returned to grow up and fight another day.

It was a busy day unhooking, measuring and releasing fish. Something nobody ever complains about even when it is hectic on deck with multiple fish flopping around and more waiting for the net.

When there was a lull in the action we decided to go on the troll, covering more ground and it paid off in short time. With one umbrella rig out rigged with tubes and one bunker spoon we soon had fish on. At first it was blues but then we homed in on where the bass were. Again we had many shorts but after switching to both rods running tube rigs we quickly started picking up some bigger fish.

The bluefish were just gorging themselves on sand eels that must have been carpeting the sea floor. I have never seen blues with their stomachs so extended. The bass were getting in on the feast as well as they too had full stomachs of sand eels. It is amazing how much they can fit in their stomachs...this is the contents of a smaller 4-5 pound bluefish.

At the end of the day everyone had sore arms and big smiles. We ended up keeping 9 blues but released dozens of fish. We also had about 15 stripers and kept two for the table. It was a beautiful fall day on the water with calm flat seas, good friends and plenty of fish.

I am Vegetarian, I Fish and I Vote

There has been a lot of controversy about Panter and Karcher's bills A3275/S2041 and sportsmen and women the last few weeks. These politicians were elected with a margin of fewer than 75 votes yet NJ has millions of residents that hunt, trap and fish. Those of you who know me I am a strict vegetarian for many years and I fish at least once a week sometimes more. I used to hunt occasionally but have not in a few years. Panter and Karcher are seeking to end all hunting fishing and trapping in this state because they are also affiliated with powerful animal rights activist groups that fund their campaigns. If just half of the sportsmen and women of this state go out and vote today we can ensure and protect our right to provide food for our families as countless generations have from our lands, streams, rivers and oceans. Our ancestors fought for the right to vote, please exercise your right to vote and make a difference.

First Skunking of the Season

I was thinking to myself as I was breaking the inlet that if I had made it this far though the season without being skunked that I may make it through the entire season. After thinking that I should have turned around and only gone for a boat ride. After about 45 or so trips I had the skunk on the boat.

I knew before leaving the dock that the water would probably still be very dirty from the blow that had just finished the night before. Most of the crew that I was trying to line up had reservations from the weather forecast and not the prospect of poor fishing conditions. As usually Buoyweather.com was right on with the forecast. They had predicted a four foot ground swell and I think most of the day inside the three mile line was more like 3 foot.

I ran down to the Seaside Piers are good clip (26 knots) and put out a chartreuse Secret Spoon due to water clarity. After 30 minutes of no action I switched to bunker blue and then white. I was surprised to get knockdowns on the white in dirty water. I also pulled a few different Stretch pugs that also did not produce.

There were a lot of big marks deep and along the bottom. I did not mark any bait to speak of, not like two weeks ago. There were also a lot of small to medium sized fish suspended in the water column between twelve and twenty five feet. I stopped a few times to jig both deep and mid water column to try and entice whatever was there to bit but with no avail.

I spoke to several guys and not much was doing outside on the troll. The guys I spoke to that stayed inside Barnegat Inlet and clammed were producing shorts and slot sized fish throughout the day when the tidal stage was right.

It was a beautiful day on the water, the boat ran great, and I did about fifty nautical miles round trip on twelve gallons of fuel and returned to port safe and sound. Can’t ask for much more out of a great fall day…well maybe full fish boxes!

Mobile Blogging

I can now blog on the fly from my phone...anytime, anywhere. Can even attach photos!

Fluke Crisis

A recent article in the APP brings to light the severe cutbacks we may face in 2009 through 2013. While summer flounder stocks are up in almost every recreational fisherman's mind NMFS says they are not. The 2007 season was one of our best in probably 10 years, with us boating over 500 keepers with about 85 to 90 percent of those over 19 inches. The recommendation was first made for 15.77 million pounds, down from 17.1 million pounds. This will most likely be cut back due to overages in the TAL for both recreational and commercial fisherman.

What NMFS fails to realize that while concentrating their management efforts on one species other species receive a lot more pressure from both recreational and commercial fisherman. This could lead to declining stocks in other species very quickly.

APP: Fishing czar sends a shot across the bow

APP: Commission urged to rethink summer flounder plan

Battle of Monmouth

Who attended? I would like to hear you comments on the rally. Below are a few links to press about the rally.

APP Article: Protesters oppose bills to change Fish and Game Council

NJ.com Article: Sportsmen to protest proposed bills

NJ Outdoor Alliance: Who is with us and who is against us

November 6 is coming and we need all hunters, fishermen and sportsmen to vote to protect our right to hunt, fish and trap in NJ. Also vote yes to option 3 to save New Jersey's preservation programs.

Clamming Trip a Bust

I joined Anthony for a morning of clamming along the sod banks of Barnegat Inlet. We knew it would be a challenging day due to weather and it was nothing short of our expectations. We got setup along the channel edge on a nice ledge quickly and started the slick. Shortly after a boat about 200' off our stern quarter was hooked up and boated what looked to be a 33 to 36" striper. We figured this is great there are fish here and continued chumming and cleaning lines. The salad was relentless. We were able to keep two to three lines in at one time while continually clearing the others. By about 9:30 the wind was really starting to kick up. All we had to show was a few bumps and a short run off.

We decided to take a short run over to Meyer's Hole to see if there was a chance at a weakfish bit but the chop and wind over there would have made for a very short uncomfortable drift.

At this point we decided to head back to the dock. Once we turned west into Oyster Creek Channel about 20 minutes later we would not believe how much the wind kicked up the swell and chop. It was a long slow ride back to Toms River...at times at only 5 knots. Thank goodness we had the enclosure up otherwise it could have been like driving through a car wash in a convertible with the top down. I have no idea how guys go out day after day in weather like this in open boats.

All in all it was a nice day on the water with good friends despite the weather and lack of fish. With our first dedicated bass trip ending with the skunk I am sure it will only get better from here. I did speak to a number of guys as well as tackle shop owners and it seemed that most of the action this weekend with keeper fish was along the beach. This makes sense and is consistent after a Nor'easter tears through and the surf is up as it provides a natural clam slick along the beach where there are clam beds.

Frustrated and Confused

This time of year usually offers the best fishing, but yet it seems to be worst right now. The water is too warm for striped bass, sea bass and blackfish to start moving into our area. With bait migrating out of the lagoons, streams, rivers and bays the weakfish are moving out. And the weather this time of usually stinks. For the past few weeks guys have been killing blue fin tuna in the mud hole but the weather just a little off shore has been a little too much for my liking. It is not that my boat can not handle it, she is amazing in sporty and snotty seas but the beating that you take in a smaller boat for only being able to keep one fish is just not worth it to me. Sure there is catch and release but still not worth the following day's aches and pains.

Hopefully we will see cooler water temps soon, this 67 degree water in October may just cause us to miss the fall run of stripers if it keeps up. They will come around Eastern Long Island and stay far offshore in deeper cooler water and pass us right by on their migration to the Carolina's.

We certainly do not have a shortage of forage for striped bass...there is plenty of spearing, rain fish, weakfish, croaker, kingfish and peanuts around. You can drive for miles and make bait and schools of smaller fish like kings, croakers and weaks along the bottom.

So far this weekend's plan is to weakfish outside and troll for bonito if they are still around. If conditions are right and it looks bassy out then we may give that a shot but with the weather the way it is and a lack of reports it is a very frustrating and confusing time.

No Particular Plan...but Still Put Fish in the Box

I had no particular plan except to spend the day on the water. I wish I could have planned on targeting stripers but when I broke the inlet and was created to 64 degree water and the sun was just coming up I figured that would be a lost cause. I marked water as warm as 67.2.

As I started running down the beach there was not a bird to be found except for migrating geese. I made a few quick stops along the way where we had fish last week but there was even a lack of bait on those structures. I continued south and started to mark bait and fish between Mantoloking and Ocean Beach.

There were a lot of boats working the area and all they were doing was working. I decided to drop down some gulp on a bottom style rig. Immediately had a double header of spike weakfish. With the small size of fish I decided to move on.

I setup again off Top of the Mast in 60' of water and began catching 18-22" weakfish. I setup on a bait rig and sent it down to see if there were any takers. I continued bail the weakfish and quickly had my limit. I had no takers on the live lined fish.

I stopped on a couple of inshore wrecks on the way in and had more weakfish and hoards of 11.5" sea bass. I did have quite a few real strong hits that stripped the gulp bait right off a bait holder hook. Didn't feel like blackfish...there was no tap, tap, wham! Just a single strong hit. Will probably make quick stops on those spots again this weekend to try and figure out what was down there.

Spoke to RTK and John on the radio (From Barnegat Fishin' Hole)...sounded like they both had small bonito throughout the day. I trolled back to MI with only bluefish on the clark spoons. I would have though 6 kts was fast enough to avoid them, even increased to 6.8 and still picked up blues.

All in all it was a nice relaxing day on the water and fish in the box. Hopefully we will see a drop to normal temps, this 10+ degrees above normal is going to really kill the fall run. I hope the fish when they come south around LI don't stay out far and pass us by

Looking Sporty This Weekend

Spent yesterday rigging baits and lures, sharpening hooks and still have a lot of prep for a local tournament this weekend. It is mainly a bragging rights tourney between a close group of guys that have for the most part met through an online fishing forum on Barnegat Fishing Hole.

For those interested you can get full details and an entry form here. As of the writing of this post there are 30 boats entered and we anticipate 50 plus by the conclusion of the captain's meeting. With 50 boats the first place payout should be about $3,000.00!

We had originally planned on making a pretty good run and clamming or chunking bunker, it looks like that is all going to change with winds predicted in the 30 knot range and seas topping six feet.

Now we just need to decide on our plan B. I would like to fish two different areas of the bay but not sure about running across the bay for 20+ nautical miles in those winds either. It should be doable but certainly not fast or comfortable like the run last week back to home port was.

I think right now with the lack of a consistent bass fishery the best thing that could happen is that the winds increase and a gale warning is issued. This would cause the tournament committee to reschedule the tournament. With the ASA tournament the following weekend that would push this one back another week and probably into much better fishing as the weather and water starts to cool.

Either way it will be a busy week scouting, preparing and nail biting until the final decisions are made to call due to weather or leave the dock and find some fish.

First Striper Trip a Bust

We decided to do a little scouting for a tournament we are in next week. Anthony and I headed out of Squan in the soup.

A blind man could have located bait. Although with very low visibility pretty much everyone was blind. Our first stop we could hear birds working and splashes but could not locate them in the fog (I had decided not go any shallower than 20-25' when not able to see the shoreline). The bait was everywhere, I think in the 45+ nm we covered there were only about 3 nm that had no bait. It was on top with birds working it, blanketing the bottom suspended you name it we found. Unfortunately there were no bass working the schools.

We made several stops that had more promising marks on the sonar and jigged. Anthony had two hookups that soon dropped off. Once the fog started to lift a little more we gave up jigging and made the run to our intended destination. With flat seas we made good time at 28kts to our nest stop.

Once there we jigged a little with only a few hits decided to go on the troll. Trolled up the rocks, across, up to the cedars, along the west side of the reef and back down to the rocks. Had one nice knockdown and boated two bluefish with Anthony dropping one boat side. He called it a graceful release or something like that but I wasn't buying it.

On the way in we made a quick stop on some mussel beds but there were only short sea bass and blackfish. There were a lot of boats drifting and anchored bottom fishing the mussel beds and rocky bottom areas. There were also tons of pots and traps there which was suprising. I have never seen that many there but I guess with the pressure from Reef Rescue we will win the reefs back but lose some other productive bottom in the process.

It was a nice day on the water once the fog lifted. The fog definitely made for an uneasy run out but all in all it was good to be back in my home waters.

Home Sweet Home

Ran the boat back to our home port in Point Pleasant from Barnegat. Had a great stay at Sun Harbor Bay Club for the fall weakfish run. Joe has a top notch facility there. I did not get to use the pool, it was a little chilly out my taste. Speaking of taste...we did have a few meals at Osaka after getting the boat and fish cleaned, it was a real treat to come back and have a good place to eat a short walk from the boat.

After returning home I hauled out to inspect the hull, bottom paint and zincs. Everything was in perfect condition, well the zincs were worn a little but still in fine shape. Had the bottom and drive power washed and also scrapped off any barnacles. With no evidence of water intrusion we let her dry out for a few ours and to see if there would be any water weeping from the outside in...there was none. All good but the mystery of a few pints to a few quarts of water per week in the bilge still remains.

I called the dealer and the manufacturer as well as consulting with the mechanics and fabricators in the marina and everyone is stumped on this one. The only thing we can come up with is that a through hull, seacock, or transom shield is leaking between the hull and the inner liner or tub. But according to the manufacturer if that were happening there would be a lot of water in the boat and it would be sitting very low in the water which I am not.

We will see what happens over the next few weeks and may decide to haul out again and re-bed the seacock to be on the save side and see if that fixes the problem.

Weakfish/Sea Trout Bag Limit Change

Just a reminder that as of October 1 the weakfish or sea trout bag limit changes to 6 fish at 13 inches.

Sea Trout are Thinning Out

I took the girls out today...had Victoria and Mickie on board for what will probably be our last sea trout trip of the season. We left Sun Harbor Bay Club at 6:10 AM and headed up between BI and BB.

We moved around a bit till we were marking bait and fish. We did not mark the huge schools that we have in the past few weeks. I suspect this is due to the cooler water temps and the bait starting to make their run out the sea trout are also on their way out.

It ended up being a slow pick with many missed hits today. The fish seemed to be lethargic due to the drop in water temp, we read 64 when we left the dock and saw a rise in temp to 67.2. They were not taking the larger BKD's so we switched to smaller Fin-s and started hooking up more.

Also had a school very large mullet come right up behind the boat. It was a beautiful sunrise and nice day on the water. We ended the day with 5 weaks up to just over 3 pounds.

I have to admit...I was outfished. Mickie was high hook with the smallest fish of the day and the largest.

I spoke to Chrissy T on the radio and he was reporting slow action as well when we spoke I also ran into Captain Mel of Fisher Queen Charters while cleaning up poolside at Sun Harbor and then we ended the day with lunch at Osaka. Life is good!

Mid-week, Afternoon Sea Trout!

Left the dock solo from Sun Harbor Bay Club at about 15:30 (since most everyone I know works during the day) and headed up to the BI. Fist stop about 100 yards NE of the buoy had a fish on the first cast. With about a 19" boat side fumbling for the net he shook himself free. Casted out put the rod down to ready the net and while the Rat-L-Trap was sinking had another fish on. Got that one halfway to the boat and it dropped off. A few casts later same thing. Decided to lift the barbs a little at that point and made a move as I was not marking bait or fish anymore.

As the storm was approaching the bite seemed to die off. I could mark bait and fish but no takers. Tried traps, fin-s, BKD's bucktails, shads and Gulp. Once the rain stopped and the clouds cleared enough for the sun to shine through the peanuts started flipping and the weaks started feeding again.

Had about a dozen weaks in 35 minutes most around 19-21". They were feeding so aggressively they were swallowing 2" rat-l-traps.

It was a great quick trip despite the short storm. Despite having to clean the cockpit up and fillet fish I still made it to Capt. Alex's class on time this week.

Sea Trout Success!

They say third time is the charm...or was it my lucky fishing shorts? It was our third weakfish trip this season and we set out from Sun Harbor Bay Club at 6 am and headed up between the BI and BB where we had good marks on sonar. At that point we started drifting due to no wind and very little current. We were about 200 yards west of the fleet at that time of about 50 boats. After about the third cast we were into fish. From then till about 8:36 am we had non stop action.

Soon after boating a few fish the fleet moved west and increased as the morning went on to about 200. We continued our action as the fleet seemed to pick here and there. Most of the fleet were using bait, we had bait out early as well but it was not producing so we pulled the bait rods and concentrated on artificials. BKD's, Fin-S, bucktails and Rat-L-Traps all worked but the red head Rat-L-Trap was the hot lure. At one point the action was so good we had double headers on every cast.

Once in the height of the action we decided on only keeping fish 15" or larger, we limited out with almost all fish over 15" with only three being under. It was a great day on the water and a full cooler.

Not Going Deep Again...

I won't be making it offshore for another week. Due to family obligations I need to be closer than 8 hours away on a good day. Plus it is not fair to put the rest of the crew in that situation of having to rush in if a call is received. So I decided to stick close and weak fish this weekend, there is always next weekend.

We Will Keep Out Fingers Crossed

It looks like we may finally after canceling three times get to run offshore! Let's keep our fingers crossed...the longrange forecast looks pretty good for Friday into Saturday and we may finally get to run to the deep for tuna, swords, wahoo and mahi. Can't wait, it has been a long time since I have been out to the deep and can't wait to get out there again.

First Sea Trout Trip a Bust

After about 20 years I have finally targeted sea trout again. We sailed out of Sun Harbor Bay Club with it's owner Joe and his son Joey. After setting up Southwest of the 42 marker we fish right away, but they were all kings. We did also boat a cocktail blue and had a few hits and bite offs probably also blues.

After giving that a shot for a while we moved and setup off Gulf Point. We had similar results with a few kings and two dogfish. We also put out some live peanut bunker. We had several run offs and hits on them but failed to hookup. Some of the run offs had the bunker bitten in half but some did not so we think there was a mixed bag of blues and some weaks there but they both eluded us.

All in all it was a nice day on the water after the sun came out and warmed things up a little. I did hear reports of fish further to the North in the area of the BB so we will probably try up there first next week and then work our way south.

Next move...

I have been debating this week if I should move the boat south to take advantage of the sea trout fishery in the southern part of the bay. With some nasty weather forecast for this weekend it may be a good idea. I won't be going offshore, and I won't be able to get out to reef and tie up for some sea bass either due to weather. So I guess I will run her south and fish down in Barnegat for a few weeks.

Last Fluke Trip of '07

Well it was a sad day on the water with our last fluke trip of the season. All we can do is hope that next year we will not be cut back too much. I would rather see a longer season with a smaller bag limit. We have much better fishing in the fall with better quality fish.

Anyway...we left the dock at 6:11 am and were at our first stop by 7 am. We initially tried to run outside to the reef but it was a little to sporty for me (I just did not feel like getting beat up). We began in the inlet area and had a constant pick of fish from 6" to 16.5". We moved up river a little and had the same results...more shorts.

We decided to try and run outside as the wind was laying down. It had changed over from a steep chop to more of a swell so we ran out the East side of the Axel Carlson Reef. Soon after we were catching bigger fish. The first two keepers were about three pounds. We were all by ourselves for the first forty five minutes and were then joined by several smaller boats and Capt. Ron and the Miss Norma K. Then we boated a 5 lb. 6 oz. fish soon followed by a 4 lb. 10 oz. fish. We continued to make short drifts over that productive bottom and ended the day since we had to be somewhere later in the day with six solid keepers and a couple of cocktail blues.

All in all it turned out to be a great day on the water boating the largest fluke of the season...well at least when the season is open. Earlier in the year you may remember Jimmy Bananas boated a fish almost 6 lbs. I guess now we will turn to weak fishing till they leave and wreck fishing until the stripers show.

Holiday Weekend PM

Well it has been a while since my last post and I will try and piece the summer back together and fill in the gaps as best I can in the coming weeks. But as many of you know I typically avoid the holiday weekends as much I as I can. So this Labor Day weekend I decided to get some mid-season work done myself instead of having the marina do it.

I got down early to avoid the traffic and began my running around. Stopped at the boat to pickup the bad light bulb so I knew what model to buy. Then stopped at the Volvo dealer for oil and filter. What a rip off marine grade synthetic oil is at $29.99 a gallon. I know this has been debated before but unfortunately marine grade oils are slightly different and worth the extra cost in prolonging you motor's life. After that it was off to West Marine for light bulbs and then to Mark's station to pick up the oil change pump.

After changing the oil I then replaced all my dock lines with brand new lines since the old ones are now almost four seasons old. The few bucks the new lines cost is a small price to pay for piece of mind in the event of big blow this fall.

In between the maintenance I set out the killie trap and a recently purchased crab pot. The killies were quite large for the creek and quickly showed up. Crabbing was a little slow. I ended the day with 7 nice sized males, a dozen or so short males and females and two short fluke. After a little break and some food I moved onto the domestic water system. It had seemed like the system was sucking in air but after careful inspection and a little help from Tommy it was was determined it was a clogged filter that I had overlooked. Cleaned the sludge out of the filter and the system was back to normal.

With all the repairs and maintenance done it was now time to relax, enjoy the beautiful weather, good company and case of Sam Adams!

Shift Problem Fixed!

Well we came out of the water on Tuesday and the Volvo mechanic was out and finished by 10:18 Wednesday. I am due back in the water today and will be fishing this weekend although the weather looks a little dismal. I have to say when I saw the called ID I thought for sure they were calling with bad news about a more involved and costly problem. When the mechanic explained the problem to me I was very disappointed that the other Volvo dealer I had been using did not pick up on the problem and just fix it when they were re-installing the outdrive. This new Volvo mechanic had the same feeling. All it turned out to be was an adjustment to the end of the shift cable where it attaches to the outdrive. I will definitely be switching to them for my annual drive service and winterization due to their professional, courteous and quick service.

Shift Problem

Well I spoke with my marina and a different Volvo dealer. They will be hauling the boat next Wednesday and working on it then, hopefully it will be a one day repair. But the point of the matter is I have had the outdrive service three times, once by one dealer and twice by another. Both times the second dealer did the winter service, storage and re-installation of the drive I have had to come out of the water the week after going in because of some kind of drive or transom shield problem. Now this could possibly be coincidence but I have also heard from many other sources that there have been a lot of complaints lately about this particular Volvo dealer. Between past experiences and what I am hearing I have decided to make the switch....what is the worst that could happen, I still get bad service? Hopefully my issue will be resolved quickly and all future service will not cause other issues...only time will tell.

This weekend we will be fishing aboard one of the local charters or party boats, not sure on all the details yet but I do know it will not be on my boat. Which pretty much sucks in itself. Oh well, I would rather break down in the bay close to home now then 15 miles offshore later in the year. So it is good to get the wrinkles out early and hopefully the switching Volvo dealers will eliminate future wrinkles.

First Trip of '07

Well we did not make it out for winter flounder opening day but we did make it out for day two. This will be the first time in many years that I have not gone out on opening day. I did not hear any great reports from yesterday and figured I would start out in the bay. We tried all our usual spots and could not put a bite together. After talking to a buddy on the radio we decided to head for the river. We setup in the river and had the same results...no bite. After that we decided to make a bold move and try the inlet figuring that if the fish are there and we are not in the right spot maybe they are on their way out and closer to the inlet. Not even a nibble in the inlet, plus the wind was against the tide making anchoring a chore. We then decided to head back up river and give that one more shot but when setting up on anchor lost forward gear. After several minutes of trying to get back into forward I was getting ready to call Sea\\Tow but just as I was about to hail them got the boat into gear and decided to head back to the barn. That ended up being a good call because after getting back to the slip I was not able to get back into forward after backing in, actually had to stop the reverse motion manually because I had no forward to pop into to slow the boat. Shortly after cleaning up it started to rain anyway so heading in was probably the right thing to do anyway. Hopefully the Volvo dealer was right when they said it is not a big job to fix and with some luck they will be able to work on it this week and have me ready for next weekend.

Launch Delayed

Well unfortunately I am not going in the water tomorrow. A friend's charter boat was delayed in getting ready and the marina is scrambling to get them in the water. They should be good to go tomorrow so then it is on to me. A couple of problems have come up, one that needs to be handled before getting wet. The through hull fitting for the plug has a screw missing or the head has snapped off. So we have to address that since an issue with a 1 inch sized hole in the bottom of the boat is pretty important. Once that is taken care of we will be in the water. This should be by Thursday, Friday the latest. Just in time for winter flounder.

Snow & Ice...I Thought it was Spring!

What a mistake it was taking the cover off the boat last week. 2-3 inches of ice and melted and re-frozen snow covering the cockpit, swim platform, gunwales and forward deck. What a pain the but to break it up and get it off the boat. when it partially melts and re-freezes it sure grabs onto the non-skid deck and does not like to let go. Hopefully the thin coating of snow and ice that I did not remove in the nooks of the non-skid will melt by Tuesday, launch day!

Is Spring Coming or Not!

It is funny how if I wash my truck it will rain in the summer or snow in the winter. Well this is the second year in a row that I have removed the cover on the boat and we are hit with a somewhat major snow storm. At least I did not go in the water yet, otherwise I would have had to stay near the boat to keep shoveling it out to prevent it from sinking. I know during some of the past few snow/ice storms this year the Sea\\Tow guys have been very busy. Hopefully the weather will calm down after tomorrow and we can get the '07 fishing season underway. Only 6 days till winter flounder!

Splash Day!

Well if all goes well we will be splashing the boat Tuesday the 20th!

Oh Happy Day!

Yes it is! The cover came off today and final preparation is just about done for launch day. I fished the wiring overhaul project as well as the finishing touches on new wiring for new devices and toys. Loaded on most of the gear and safety equipment. Removed the rosin paper that I had taped down in the cockpit to keep it clean over the winter while working on the boat. Boy did that work well. The cockpit sole is just as clean as the day it was washed and polished. I was hesitant that the rosin paper might bleed since it was red but there was only two stains about the size of dimes that were only a very faint pink color. Most likely they will fade in a week or so of sunlight.

I also finally finished moving my second sonar unit to the cockpit. It will be so nice to not have to squint and duck to look into the pilothouse and read the one at the helm. It will also just be cool to watch your hooked fish come up on the screen next to you! I also finished installing the new radio. I have never used a Uniden VHF but have had several of their other products with no complaints.

I also went with a wireless second station mic so I can roam anywhere on the boat and hear what is going on and keep in contact with fellow fisherman.

Another good use of the wireless mic is when someone goes up on the bow to work the anchor. They can take the mic with them and I won't have to shout through the windows for them to hear, it doubles as an intercom system. It will also serve me well while back at the dock hanging out in the picnic area waiting for the larger boats returning from offshore. Instead of having to run out to the boat to hail them on the radio we will be able to do it from the comfort of a lounge chair.

I would have liked to get the new cockpit lighting, CO2 detector, new power points and freshwater shower installed before going back in the water. Because most likely once in the water projects get put on the back burner unless absolutely needed...fishing becomes the number one priority once we get wet!

2007 Sinker Party

Well we had a smaller turnout and only molded between five and six hundred pounds of lead. Last year we molded about nine hundred pounds. I guess most fished less last season and did not need to replenish their inventory. I recently purchased snag molds and they worked out great. It seemed to be more popular than we thought and we ran out of hooks fast. The smaller spire point molds that I got did not work well. It seemed that the holes to pour the lead into were way too small. I have already milled them out a little and hopefully this will fix the incomplete pouring issues. It definitely was not a cold mold issue but more of a flow issue so that should be all fixed. We did get a handful of the smaller 1 ounce ones made and they look like they will be great for river and bay fishing or pitching to surface busting fish. Now it is on to painting, curing and tying all of them. That should keep me busy till fluke season starts this year even though it is much later.

Cockpit Sonar

Well after nearly two years I finally moved the black and white sounder from the helm to the cockpit. There is nothing I hate more than drilling holes in fiberglass. For some reason no matter what I do I get chipping and cracking around the hole. I tape off and drill through the tape, use new sharp bits, keep the drill straight and steady. I have come to the conclusion I am just not meant to drill holes in my boat. With that said if I ever need holes drilled below or near the water line rest assured that it will not be me doing the drilling. Anyway, at least it is not cored or structural, and the mounts cover the unsightly details. She is all mounted and wired up to power and NMEA wires to the GPS. I just need to tighten the screws down once the silicone sets and tie down the excess wire under the second station in the cockpit. It will be so nice to just turn around and see bottom contour, depth, water temp, and location without having to run inside. Which I usually end up banging my head in the process. We should also be able to click off waypoints from the cockpit now as well. It is going to be a whole new experience this year...cockpit sounder, wireless VHF mike and remote control of the stereo all from the cockpit. Now all I need it three extra hands so that I can play with all my cool toys and fish at the same time!

New Radio Install

Well it was pretty cold...but once the heater was up and running for a little while the pilothouse and cockpit were somewhat warm. I stripped out the wiring from the old radio and fishfinder. I then cleaned up some wiring I left a little long in case I wanted to make changes and then began wiring up the new radio. I also connected all the NMEA wires for the GPS, fishfinder and radio so everything can communicate to each other. I still have to apply power to everything and make sure the connections are all correct but if I interpreted the manuals right the connections should all be good. I then re-tied all the wires back into one nice neat wire bundle. In the process of relocating the VHF antenna wire I discovered the solder on connector was not soldered all that well. Next trip down I will re-solder that connection and maybe I will see improved radio range from what I already think is pretty good range.

When I was running a new accessory, always on wire I noticed a pretty heave smell of gas. My fuel filters were very loose and actually dripping slowly. Only thing I could think of is that the gaskets had shrank from the recent cold weather. I tightened them up and they did not leak the rest of the day. Hopefully the cold weather is what caused this and hopefully only a little leaked out and still have a mostly full tank.

Remote PM???

Why yes! I just finished cleaning the portable head. I left it in the garage a few days in hopes it would clean itself but for some reason it did not. I made an executive decision...paint or clean the head. You would think that would be a no brainer and most would opt for painting but I have been painting for two days and nights and needed a break. It actually was not that bad, the tablets I have been adding each time it was emptied and filled with fresh water kill off any smell at all and leave a somewhat pleasant smell. It is the slush, chunks and color that are less desirable. Probably TMI but thought I would share. Well at least it is done and I can get on with the more fun and enjoyable projects.

More PM

Well I guess if you can't be on the water then the next best thing is being on the boat! I finished removing all items from the boat. It is amazing how much stuff you end up with, it is equally amazing that the boat still floats with all this stuff. Anyway I began the cleansing of the interior as well as electronics musical chairs. I removed the bracket and wiring for the old fish finder to make way for the new Uniden VHF. I installed the wireless second station charging cradle on the v-berth bulkhead and could not complete the wiring because they do not include an in-line fuse. Can you believe that, you spend over a hundred bucks for a second mic and they can't even give you a 2 dollar fuse holder. It is just as well since I really should install an new buss bar with power that is always on regardless of batter selector switch position. This mic needs to recharge and there is also a need for accessory power for other devices to keep memory so I will add that to the distribution panel next time. I also decided to try replacing the gimbel pins on two of the rod holders with stainless hardware in lieu of replacing the whole rod holder. Only time will tell if this will hold up to wire line trolling which is what busted out the pins in the first place. Hopefully they will hold up that way I can order a new Avet reel instead of two rod holders. I also vacuumed the whole interior, something that was long over due. Once all the other wiring and work is done inside I will wash down all interior surfaces and oil the teak. Hopefully between working on the house and 47 days left before launch I can get all the planned projects done this time.

Interior PM This Weekend

Well the outside of the boat is done and now it is on to the pilothouse and the rest of the inside. I hope to get down this weekend to do some more work in preparation for Winter Flounder season. It is only 63 days away and you would be amazed how fast 63 days slips by when your boat is not completely ready to back in the water. It is amazing how much stuff you acquire throughout the year. I now know why my fuel consumption went up...I have about an extra 100 pounds of gear from the previous year. Anyway I will be cleaning the fiberglass interior, cushions, windows, carpets, head, teak, etc. I was thinking of trying Interlux's teak products...Premium Teak Restorer and Premium Teak Oil. Anyone have experience with them? Please post comments good or bad.