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Fished deep today with Stephen and Capt. Mike. Ever hear the phrase "too nice?" Well, that was yesterday. Had them coming early, with Mike putting one in the box, among the big-ass shorts we are forced to throw back. Then we lost the drift, despite being right on the Moon. Funny how that works. Screaming current in the Bay, nothing offshore.

Anyway, putted around over various "drift" lines, though the drift was ridiculously slow. Once we got to lunchtime the breeze finally came up, shifted SSW and we began to catch again. Found a patch of fish and quickly put 4 more nice ones in the box, to Mike's 5lb8oz trip best. Stephen hooked some kind of shark around 50lbs and successfully got it boat side, before its tail chafed through his line.

So we ended with 5 units in the box and sufficient fillet for three very decent meals. Can't say enough about this crew - they never left the rail, expertly washed the boat at the dock and never gave the captain any s*** about the slow fishing. Can't ask for more than that! Pix attached.

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I fished the Miss Montauk yesterday. Pretty slow day. Difficult drifting conditions. Some anglers were skunked. A few had limits. It became a long hot day bouncing heavy sinkers in very deep water.
What instantly lifted my spirits was after mate Anthony suggested I check my fish for the pool and it turned out that my 24.5" fluke was dead even with the reining number 1. A pool fish made the drive home much more bearable.
Sometimes it's
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better to be lucky than good.
 
Leprechaun said:
Fished deep today with Stephen and Capt. Mike. Ever hear the phrase "too nice?" Well, that was yesterday. Had them coming early, with Mike putting one in the box, among the big-ass shorts we are forced to throw back. Then we lost the drift, despite being right on the Moon. Funny how that works. Screaming current in the Bay, nothing offshore.

Anyway, putted around over various "drift" lines, though the drift was ridiculously slow. Once we got to lunchtime the breeze finally came up, shifted SSW and we began to catch again. Found a patch of fish and quickly put 4 more nice ones in the box, to Mike's 5lb8oz trip best. Stephen hooked some kind of shark around 50lbs and successfully got it boat side, before its tail chafed through his line.

So we ended with 5 units in the box and sufficient fillet for three very decent meals. Can't say enough about this crew - they never left the rail, expertly washed the boat at the dock and never gave the captain any s*** about the slow fishing. Can't ask for more than that! Pix attached.

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Although catching keeper Fluke can often be challenging, especially this season, it never happens unless the Capt. has the skill to put you over the fish. Kudos, Pete, for my second trip in a row with a limit aboard the Leprechaun. :D
 
Sailed with Capt. Mike and Stephen yesterday, right to my office. Sporty on the way out, but once there it was surprisingly nice. Had fish coming early, including a pair of 5.5lb units for the box. A real good start. Then the endless shorties parade started, with at least 4 measuring a true 19" - what a shame putting those back.

Once we got to the change we again had better fish - finishing up with five in the box for the three of us. Stephen was red-hot, using Fishbites GULP clones in Pink Shine, with a piece of belly sweetener.

Not gonna say I'm disappointed with the catch given this season's miserable fluking, but a few more for the box would have been nice. Still, fish this size give up very nice fillets, so we all went home with enough for a good meal.





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Weekend Recap
Sat. - was joined by my son Brian and his g/f on the best charter boat in NJ. The 3 of caught nearly half of the 30+ keepers, happy to keep the captain's Fluke charter limit streak intact. Dana caught her PB and cooked us all a great dinner, impressive after 7 hours at the rail. 2 notes of interest
- you can never bring enuff Gulp!
- I didn't catch any keepers after 9am, boat traffic was bonkers at the reef
Labor Day - went back to the same location on my buddy's Parker and conditions were brutal, so we went inshore, 3 guys, 3 K fluke 20 to 25", 3 K Seabass, 4 hour trip.
Conclusion - they're still around, as long as the Caribbean tropical storms stay away , Sept should be awesome. Some of the known offshore muster spots are still barren and they're still in the rivers in numbers. Hopefully we can get a few more weeks of Fluking in 🤞
 

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Labor Day Offshore Fluke

Whelp, I can't speak to the inshore conditions, but Capt. Mike, Stephen and I got our behinds handed to us offshore yesterday morning. Not bad running out, but once we got off around 4 miles and lost the N breeze lee, man it was nasty. A totally blown forecast, (10mph or less), with a super-close 3'+ and a 15-20mph steady wind. Very uncomfortable, to say the least.

Even so, we did start catching, once we put out the sock and I adjusted the drift line. Mike put the first fish in the box and I followed with one of my own. Stephen lost a pair of what had to be VERY nice fish right in a row - pulling against a very fast drift while going up and down will often have decent fish shake loose, if not hooked securely in the throat. Not much you can do about that. Just reel slow and say a silent prayer.

Anyway, the breeze backed off around 11:00, with us segueing down from 8's to much more manageable 4/5 oz sinkers and jigs, and strangely enough, the fishing dropped off as well. They got very picky, with many light hits and some significant "drive by" wallops that resulted in nothing. They appeared to want no part of the Incoming. Still, we ended the day with 6 in the box to 4.5 pounds, not horrible, given the crummy season and the day's tough conditions.

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