Bonus Tag Bass by Ed Valitutto

Posted on May 26, 2022 by VHFC

I fished the Surf City beach at 6th street on Monday afternoon (5/23) and all I caught was one small 20″ striper. But I watched someone one street south land and return 3 bass. So today I went to 5th street at 4:00 for a 5:20 high tide. There was a light NE wind and for the first hour, my clam bait was chewed down by blowfish – my guess anyway.

At 5:00, I rebaited again and cast out into the surf. Within a minute I felt my bait being grabbed and moved around. Taking my time with the circle hooks and resisting the urge to set the hook, I slowly started reeling until I was sure the fish was hooked. When I got the fish on the sand, I knew it would definitely make the slot size but I measured to be sure. The fish measured just under 27″ and was just under 6 lbs. Once home, per Bonus Tag rules, I reported the fish online and requested another tag.

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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.