Great Wreck Fishing by the Figley Family by Nate Figley

Posted on June 1, 2024 by VHFC

We headed out for some bottom fishing at the Garden State North Reef Site. Fishing itself was a slow pick, but we did manage to put a decent catch together of sea bass, ling, and tog. Of course, all tog were released, with a few of them in the 3-5lb range and then the biggest was caught by Mallory – a 7 lb beauty! Most fish were caught using bait (squid and clam) but a few were fooled by diamond jigs.

The added photos show Bill Figley taking a power nap and Alexa Figley with a double header sea bass.

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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.