By Robert Barradale
Hello, fellow fisherpeople! Over the past few seasons we have been treated to good fishing for striped bass, bluefish, and fluke and also enjoy regular visits from whales and porpoises. The connecting factor for these seemingly unconnected events has been the presence of massive schools of menhaden (bunker) in our local waters. Thanks to the efforts of conservation groups like the Menhaden Defenders led by Capt. Paul Eidman the giant factory ships are no longer harvesting ridiculously huge tonnage of these forage fish, mainly used in the production of Omega 3 oil (which can be easily made synthetically) and cheap livestock feed. More bunker left in the ocean translates into more natural food to attract the predators that we like to catch (or in the case of marine mammals, observe). For more insight and a good read check out “The Most Important Fish In The Sea” written by Rutgers professor H. Bruce Franklin describing the role bunker play in the overall health of our waters.
Fluke fishing is improving with the keeper/short ratio getting better. You can still find plenty of action with the sub-legal flatties with some real doormat sized fish mixed in. As always, drifting conditions dictate the fluking catch rate, a nice drift equals more fish for the table. We are still waiting for the blues to finish spawning offshore, and when they do arrive I am sure they will be dining on bunker. Canyon tuna fishing was sporadic the last few days with some boats scoring on yellowfins and bigeyes while others drew a blank. Bluefin tuna have been a little closer, primarily by the Atlantic Princess Wreck and were being caught by trolling spreader bar rigs and jigging butterfly style metals. Cownose rays invaded inshore waters and many a fluker has been surprised when one of these 40-75 pound underwater bats tries to rip the rod from their hands. They are tough fighters but not really that good to eat, so I recommend releasing them after your battle.
The 42nd White Marlin Open was held over the weekend in Ocean City, Md. and some of our local boats were entered, but I have not received any reports (John Stavola, where are you?). There will be payouts for white marlin, blue marlin, tuna, wahoo, and mahi-mahi and with 306 boats entered the I am positive the competition was fierce. My friend Capt. Frank Crescitelli of Fin Chaser Charters is representing Staten Island for this contest and I hope he does well. Frank is the founder of the Fishermen’s Conservation Association, creator of Guide’s Choice Lures, and will be starring in the Finchasers TV show coming in December on the Discovery Channel. I’ve seen some of the preview clips and this is going to be cool so check it out!
Non-fishing stuff: We dropped by the Highlands Clam Fest Friday night and really enjoyed munching on local seafood delicacies while being entertained by the fantastic British Invasion Tribute band. It was a great night meeting up with a bunch of friends for a taste of “shore life.” It is Monday afternoon and Happy Hour at the Inlet Cafe is rapidly approaching so we’ll wrap this up for now. See you here next week, till then, Hook Em Up!!
