First Charter for 2024 by Ed Valitutto

Posted on April 22, 2024 by VHFC

Bob Dodds asked John Stuebing and me to join him on a Brett Taylor 3-7 PM charter for bass and tog for Friday, 4/19. Despite the cold, the wind died down from the previous day’s storm to make for an enjoyable trip. We fished for bass along the sod banks inside BI by dragging a 2 oz sinker on a fish finder rig with a circle hook baited with three sandworms! Brett does not skimp on the bait! Bob had a nice 29″ bass and John had a 28.5″ along with a short and one that escaped near the boat. As for me, I need to practice my sinker dragging some more. I didn’t even get a hit.

We then tried for tog along the banks between Andy’s and the lighthouse. Nothing! Brett said the water was just too dirty for tog to see the crabs. Still a fun first trip!

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Fishing Facts

Of the fifty United States, thirty-eight have a striped-bass record. New Jersey has the largest striped-bass record—a 78-pound 8·ounce whopper that was caught in 1982. The state with the smallest striped-bass record is Iowa. That landlocked striper weighed only 9 pounds 4 ounces and was caught in 1983.

There’s something fishy about beer these days. Fish Tail Ale is popular as ever, and New Jersey’s Flying Fish Brewery is one of the state’s largest specialty breweries. There’s also Washington’s Wild Salmon Organic Pale Ale, Florida’s Land Shark beer, Delaware’s Dogfish Head beer, and two versions of Stingray beer—a lighter version from the Cayman Islands and a dark beer from Canada.

The triangle fly is probably the most unusual of saltwater flies. It’s one of the few, if not only, flies tied to a treble hook. It’s also barely a fly at all, because hardly any material is used. It is complete after tying the two straw pearl twinkle flashes and the tiny tuft of natural squirrel, leaving an entire hook fully exposed. Incredibly this barebacked treble fly is a knockout when it comes to sea trout.