Black Friday Fishing

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Hello, fellow fisherpeople! As I was busy chasing two-year old granddaughter Sophia around the house on Thanksgiving, and dreading Black Friday, I received a text from my friend Mark Moretti inviting me to go fishing the next day. Mark began fishing with his dad, Lou, and I when he was around 10 years old and, without giving away our ages, it was a long time ago and we had not gotten out together for awhile. Still, I was a bit reluctant to accept as Sophia still had hours left to beat me up and I would be too tired to be on a boat at dawn. When Mark explained that he was bringing his boys, Mark Jr., 21, and Anthony, 6, and the purpose of the trip was to catch Anthony his first striper with a departure time of around 11 a.m., I was hooked.

Mark Moretti and son Anthony with the big fish. Photo: Robby Barradale
Mark Moretti and son Anthony with the big fish. Photo: Robby Barradale

We left Atlantic Highlands on Mark’s 23-footer and based on reports from friends (Thanks, Derek and Chris) we zoned in on an area off Sandy Hook armed with spin outfits bearing Ava and shad jigs. It only took a couple of casts before I hooked up and immediately handed the rod off to Anthony. After a brief tussle he landed a nice 29-inch striper which, being his first fish, was now destined for the dinner table. Mission accomplished! We worked the bass schools for about an hour and the final score was Anthony and Mark Jr., 3 each, Mark caught 2, and Capt. Robby 0. Oh well, this was not about me catching fish, it was more fun watching a kid enjoying time on the water with his brother and dad. We headed for home on a bay so flat that Anthony actually fell asleep! All in all this was a great day and I really appreciated Mark allowing me to join them for this “first time experience” with Anthony (and I didn’t have to shop on Black Friday!)
On Thanksgiving Capt. Derek on the Fisher Price IV ran his traditional striped bass jigging morning trip with Bob Bielitz and Art Berkman, and he found plenty of fish. After quickly limiting out they went to catch and release mode and were still back at the dock in time for a late breakfast before the turkey feast. Derek and Chris on Long Shot have recently been splitting their trips between blackfish and stripers, often limiting out on both species, and some of the blacks have been real beasts surpassing the 10-pound mark. I just spotted a report from Capt. Chad on Tagged Fish and it looks like his customers enjoyed a banner morning with an easy limit of blackfish (Monday). Saturday Capt. Jim on the Bingo took a group led by Dennis McGinness blackfishing to raise funds for Jasons Dreams For Kids and from what I understand everyone (except Dennis!) caught a fair amount of the tasty tautogs. The trip was very successful and made some money for a great organization and I would have loved to be on this one simply to enjoy the good-natured ribbing that I am sure kept spirits high. Congrats to Lorne Hargis for finally getting his first fly rod striper at the toll booth beach the other day, and then actually nailed his second, by being in the right place at the right time. By keeping track of wind and tidal conditions he was able to score and he had put in a lot of time to achieve this milestone.
The fishing is good right now but who knows how long it will last or the icy grip of winter shuts us down? Get out on the water soon, either on a beach or boat, and take advantage of this while you can, chances are you might even run into me along the way! See you here next week, till then, Hook Em Up!