Fluke action remaining hot as temperatures rise
Ron Nuzzolo
Fish On

Starting down south out of Barnegat Light, Capt. Steve on the Reelfantasea went out at night with Steve Santoro, executive chef of Frescos in Manhattan, and son Marco for a three-hour evening trip to find birds on top with plenty of bluefish below.

Bluefish did prove finicky that night; the guys had to work at boating just a few bluefish on plastics and buck tails. The blues that were boated were coughing up sand eels; this is possibly the reason for the finicky behavior. The Joe Ritcher July Fourth party from Pennsylvania was out for a striped bass trip. They started with catching hickory shad behind the inlet for bait, and from there they moved up to the inlet to fish for bass. After pulling the hook on just one striper, they headed north to find only a few hard-to-locate bunker schools in a strong south west wind at 15-20 knots with gust to 30 knots. The schools of bunker were hard to locate, with the stripers being more elusive.

Kevin Gibbons and son Mike were out the next day, again catching some hickory shad for bait at first light. From there it was back to the inlet to land a nice bass, and lose a few more when the hook pulled on one and then on another. The guys ended the day happy with a mixed catch of striped bass, blues and hickory shad.

The week ended with Bill Infurna, the winner of the Lacey Elks Charity Game Dinner event to raise money for beach access for the handicapped. The party had solid action in the back bay with blues, hickory shad, sea robins and fluke on a combination of plastics and buck tails tipped with Berkley Gulp and plastics, making for a nice couple of dinners.

Out of Shark River, Capt. Joe from NJSaltwaterfisherman.com went out on his boat Irish Ayes in a local fluke tournament and fished the northwest side of the Sandy Hook Reef. Capt. Joe had the lines in the water for about five minutes when they picked up the first keeper and continued to pick up some more keepers up to 22 inches with few throwbacks. In the afternoon, Capt. Joe stopped near the Rattlesnake and picked up several more keepers.

Irish Ayes worked her way back and stopped at the lump off Long Branch. First drift - 23.5-inch fluke weighed about 4.8 pounds on uncertified hand-held scale. Another hook up on the way in resulted in a 24-inch fish, weighing 5.3 pounds. Back in time for weigh-in, the word at the dock was there were two 9-pound fluke weighed in. Just when Capt. Joe weighed in his 5.3-pounder, another boat came in with an official "door mat" that tipped the scale at 10.4 pounds. A great day for all who entered, with a good mix of fish and enough keepers for dinner. To contact Capt. Joe, e-mail him at irishayes@optonline.net.

Out of Point Pleasant, Capt. Bob Bogan on The Gambler has been putting smiles on his customers' faces with night blues ranging from 6 to 12 pounds. The fluke fishing the last few days has really improved. Sea bass helped to spice things up on Saturday. A few anglers had up to five keeper fluke. The ratio of keepers to shorts was about 50/50 with many 2 to 3 pounds.

If you have no time to get out and fish, Capt. Jack on Prowler 5 is running "magic hours" for bluefish - always a great crowd and plenty of bluefish being caught. Saturday night the fish stayed under the boat throughout the night and never really turned on. High hook landed six fish. Cliff (spiral rod) Stahl from Bogota won the pool with a 15-pound bluefish. Prowler 5 is sailing 3:30-9:30 p.m. every night except Monday. E-mail www.prowler5.com for more information.

"Magic hours" on board the Misty Morn with Capt. Phil from Morgan resulted in a nice evening with plenty of keepers in the bay. Carlos Hernandez was the pool winner with a 5-pound fluke. Laurie Mooney had four keepers, while father and son Tony and Nicholas Vizzi had five keepers, with Chris Nuzzolo going solo with four keepers. Not bad for magic hours; a nice night on the bay is a great way to reduce stress and relax. Check out the Misty Morn at MistyMornFishing.com.

This weekend was the Hi-Mar fishing trip for kids from a Monmouth County juvenile diabetes group, along with their parents and club members Mike McLean and Mark Stanick. A great day to be on the water for such a great cause. My good friend Ron McClelland from Hi-Mar tells me it's a great feeling to watch the kids pull in a fish for the first time. Keepers, throwbacks, skates or sea-robins, it doesn't make a difference. For most of these kids, and Mom or Dad, this is a first-time experience they will never forget.

The group fished on the Capt. Dave out of Atlantic Highlands Marina (thanks, Capt. Dave). Next trip, July 22, will be with a group from Big Brothers Big Sisters. Also a special thanks to Pete from Atlantic Highlands Bait & Tackle for the bags of ice, and sweatshirts to the pool winner. Please support the Hi-Mar Fishing Club. They really work hard at making a difference for these kids. If there is anyone else out there who would like to donate prizes for the "pool winners," they can contact Ron McClelland at info@himar.com and he will be happy to make arrangements to pick the item or items up. Fish On.