captmike28
Well-Known Angler
Yesterday’s charter group consisted of Vinnie and his friends Jay, Frank Jr. and Frank Sr. (aka the “Legend”) looking mainly for some hot Sea Bass and assorted bottom action. Following the “spanking” the biscuits administered on Saturday I was determined to settle the score.
Challenged with a strong full moon tide I opted for a 50’ drop near Fishers I where I knew the tide would be manageable. As soon as the baits hit bottom fish began flying over the rail and that pattern continued for the entire day. The guys pulled a mix of both medium to jumbo sized Scup and plenty of Sea Bass as well. Although the keeper Sea Bass were still hard to come by, the “Legend” started us off early with the first 17” fish and slowly the other crew members added keepers of their own.
On the slack water period we did try some of the deeper 100’ drops in the vicinity hoping for a better class of Sea Bass. The action there was insane as every time I positioned the boat on the key location all 4 rods would bend. However, 99% of the fish were still short there with only one more keeper added to the box.
So, we decided to finish off he day back on the hook where we started and enjoyed another few hours of solid action. Total tally for the day wound up 9 keeper Sea Bass and 25 nice sized Porgies culled from well over 100 fish. Just to spice things up a bit we did take 2 passes at the Race on the way home to try and snag a Striper. The full moon ebb tide was screaming and standing 4-5’ waves in the rip were a little intimidating to say the least. The guys did manage 3 huge mid teen sized Blues before we all figured it’s better not to tangle with those nasty conditions any longer.
Speaking with many north fork friends and captains it seems everyone has been struggling with the keeper sized Sea Bass in our area for a little while now. Perhaps too much pressure or water temps as may speculate. However, we all still feel there are definitely some strong innings left with larger Sea Bass as we move towards the start of Tog season. Perhaps the easterly front coming up later this week will be the trigger.
Speaking of that, I do have a single opening for this coming Monday, 9/23, slated to be a Sea Bass/Striped Bass target tip. Just let me now if you want to join in the fun.
Capt. Mike
Challenged with a strong full moon tide I opted for a 50’ drop near Fishers I where I knew the tide would be manageable. As soon as the baits hit bottom fish began flying over the rail and that pattern continued for the entire day. The guys pulled a mix of both medium to jumbo sized Scup and plenty of Sea Bass as well. Although the keeper Sea Bass were still hard to come by, the “Legend” started us off early with the first 17” fish and slowly the other crew members added keepers of their own.
On the slack water period we did try some of the deeper 100’ drops in the vicinity hoping for a better class of Sea Bass. The action there was insane as every time I positioned the boat on the key location all 4 rods would bend. However, 99% of the fish were still short there with only one more keeper added to the box.
So, we decided to finish off he day back on the hook where we started and enjoyed another few hours of solid action. Total tally for the day wound up 9 keeper Sea Bass and 25 nice sized Porgies culled from well over 100 fish. Just to spice things up a bit we did take 2 passes at the Race on the way home to try and snag a Striper. The full moon ebb tide was screaming and standing 4-5’ waves in the rip were a little intimidating to say the least. The guys did manage 3 huge mid teen sized Blues before we all figured it’s better not to tangle with those nasty conditions any longer.
Speaking with many north fork friends and captains it seems everyone has been struggling with the keeper sized Sea Bass in our area for a little while now. Perhaps too much pressure or water temps as may speculate. However, we all still feel there are definitely some strong innings left with larger Sea Bass as we move towards the start of Tog season. Perhaps the easterly front coming up later this week will be the trigger.
Speaking of that, I do have a single opening for this coming Monday, 9/23, slated to be a Sea Bass/Striped Bass target tip. Just let me now if you want to join in the fun.
Capt. Mike
