FIRST TRIP OF 2014 by Dave Spendiff

Posted on April 29, 2014 by VHFC

Although my boat has been in the water 3 weeks, Monday April 28 was the first decent day worth venturing out in. After the presentation made by Capt. Alex of Lighthouse Sportfishing at our April meeting, I was excited about the opportunity to use some of my new gained knowledge. I left the dock at 8:15 and headed North. The water temp in the lagoons and bay varied from 55 to 57.5 degrees. I have caught early run blue fish trolling spoons in the past so when I reached Gulf Point I began trolling. I trolled all around the bay past marker 42 towards Waretown, working my way closer to the western shore as I went. NADA! Not a touch! Remembering that Capt. Alex said water temp was key, I figured I would head up to Oyster Creek where the power plant discharge did warm the water to 63.8 degrees. I fished a pink BKD on the outgoing along with a half a dozen other boats. Saw nothing caught, but did finally foul hook a small, 2lb, striper. Around 2:00, I headed for home with a stop at the 42 marker and another troll to Gulf point.
Well, sometimes you catch fish, sometimes you just go fishin’!

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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.