Two days after the VHFC Fluke trip, I decided to give it a try on my boat. Joining me were John Stuebing and Bayside Dave. Shortly after leaving my dock, we saw the telltale signs of peanut bunker and the 2nd throw of my net got us more than enough.

Once on Barnegat Reef, the drift was okay but not great at ~.4 – .6 kts. Two things became obvious: the flutter spoon rig that had super results on our charter was not working at all. Captain Greg Carr confirmed Friday night that at least a 1 kt drift is needed for the spoon to flutter and not drag on the bottom. Secondly, the peanuts were the ticket especially on just a bare hook. Everything was hitting them,

We caught three respectable keepers, many shorts, birds and I had six skates! We tried tog fishing near Andy’s and the fuel docks, but all we caught were shorts. Still a great day on the water!

On Tuesday 9/10/2024, a group of club members and a few guests went out on the Super Chic charter boat for some bottom fishing.  After being canceled and rescheduled twice because of bad weather, it turned out to be a beautiful day.  We drifted the Barnegat Reef targeting fluke.  Many fish were caught and we ended up with 10 keeper fluke, a Spanish mackerel, a bonito, a bluefish, 2 large sea robins, and Ed took home a skate.  John Steubing won the pool with a 22″ fluke.  The filets were split up evenly among the group.  It was a fun day.

Jim Healy took Doug O’Brien and me out on his boat on Saturday morning 8/31/2024.  We targeted fluke using live minnows and peanut bunker in Barnegat Bay.  Drifting the west side of the dike in High Bar Harbor, fishing was slow but we caught about a dozen fish.  Doug caught and kept a nice 19″ fluke on live peanut bunker.  The bite slowed down, so we moved to the channel in front of the gas dock by the Coast Guard Station and set up a drift from there to the lighthouse.  We caught and released a few fish per drift and again, Doug got another 19″ keeper, this time on a live minnow.  The three of us enjoyed fishing together on a beautiful day and were happy to get some action.

On Tuesday, 8/27, club members, Bob, Bill, Boston and John joined Gino on the Kev n Ash for a productive but rough day. The weather and seas were perfect, but the fluke were challenging!! I don’t know about other club members fishing that day, but we lost a lot of fish.
They were getting off from the minute they were hooked, on the way up, and even on the surface before being netted. However, we finished with a limit of sea bass, several ling and 11 fluke. Which included a 23″, 5 pounder+ that I caught! 

Great trip on Friday, August 23 with John Stuebing and Pat Presutto. John had invited us to join him on his boat, the Salty Dog, for a tuna trip out of Tuckerton but we got reports of bluefin being caught at the Tolten wreck/lump area about 20 miles NE of the Barnegat Inlet. I’m out of Waretown so we decided to take my boat with John outfitting the trip and setting the strategy. We left the docks at first navigable light and were on the fishing grounds by about 6:30 am. John and Pat worked magic to get 6 lines out behind my 23′ 7″ Sea Hunt and we trolled the Tolten wreck and nearby lump all morning.

Because I’d never hooked up with a tuna before the guys insisted that I take the first fish. It was slow going until about 11:30 when a fish slammed one of John’s green Sterling spreader bars and the reel started screaming. I grabbed the rod and began the fight while John and Pat brought in the other lines. John took the boat controls and helped me by running the fish down and before long we had him in the boat and quickly on ice. Back home John showed us how to break down the fish and we split the meat to enjoy with our families. Hands down the most delicious tuna I’ve ever eaten.

After weeks, no make that months of frustrating weather & a poor fluke bite, accompanied by several VHFC members, we finally had a great day. On Friday, 8/23, I, Boston Bob, Bert, Bill and James went out with Captain Greg Carr on the Kev ‘n Ash. It started slow but turned on fast. With Greg making many slight position moves, we finished the day with 18 fluke from 20″ to 6.5 pounds! We even let 2 18″ keepers go. Here’s hoping this will continue for all of us until the season closes next month.

Saturday’s trip was a banner day! I had Wil, my neighbor, and my friend Rick who’s a new member. It was nonstop fishing. The shorts were more than we could count plus many short sea bass. We ended up with 11 keeper fluke – just couldn’t get that last one – and 4 keeper sea bass. We also had 3 small blue fish. Truly was a great day of fishing!

My daughter caught her first keeper trigger fish and I didn’t catch a thing. We had a great morning on the water in the barneget bay. Tried fluking and blackfishing but no luck. So we decided to take a dip and do some claming.

I went out to the walkway this morning for day one of tog season. The bite was non-stop from 6am to 9am, and I left them biting. I went through 100 sand fleas and landed over 30 tog and one 12″ fluke. I harvested this 15.5″ tog and released 2 others that were the same size.  

Our First year in the Tri Club Challenge is now in the Books. As a club we came in second place behind the Forked River Tuna Club. As a Club, our top 10 fish weighed in at 27.93 pounds.
Top individual honors went to our very own Cheri Hebert with a real doormat weighing 8.05 lbs.
The Forked River Tuna Club did a great job hosting the event – a good time was had by all! Next year we will be hosting the event – hope to see everyone participating.

Jim Healy took me, Doug O’Brien, and Mike Woodrow out on his boat Monday morning.  All of us are members of the club.  We fished a few spots including Oyster Creek, High Bar Harbor, and the inlet.  We were out for about 5 hours, and between the 4 of us, we boated about 40 fish.  Mike was definitely high hook boating close to two dozen.  They were mostly shorts – 8″ to 14″, but Doug and Mike (pictured) each got keepers, 20″ and 19″ respectively.  Jim, Mike, and I will be fishing together on Jim’s boat in Saturday’s tournament.  Hopefully we will score some points for the club.

Despite a little bit of fog this morning, July 20th turned out to be a good day. I had my fishing buddy Wil who is a member now and my neighbor out today. We fished off the red Tower again and put a catch together with eight keepers plus numerous throwbacks and skates, Wil had a nice 24 1/4″ flounder that weighed 5.9lbs. The rest were 18″ to 20″ but we just couldn’t catch that last fish to limit out!

Wednesday July 3rd, I went out on the Great Bay on a friend’s boat for fluke.  It was a slow bite but we found a few fish in the deep water behind the stink house.  Bucktails tipped with pink and white Gulp jerk shads and live minnows were getting it done.  All four of us were picking up short fish and two of us got keepers, but not me ?.  My buddy Tommy limited out, one of which weighed 5.09 lbs.  Even though it’s been slow lately, there are fish out there.

I took my 87 year old grandfather out for a brief trip on Friday (7/5). We only spent a couple hours on the reef, but we managed a nice keeper sea bass and one keeper fluke. It was nice just to get him out on the water and fishing again.

We headed out for fluke on Sunday and were greeted with dense fog on the way out. But we pressed on, and the fog began to clear about a mile from the reef. We started off with a good bite and had four keepers in the boat quickly. One of them was 23″. We continued to pick throughout the day and managed a total of 8 keepers! Not many shorts were caught, only somewhere between 6-8. We also got a nice sea bass. We attempted to catch more, but even with plenty of marks on the screen, and spot lock holding us on structure, we couldn’t manage anymore sea bass. We were happy with our fluke haul, so we called it a day.

Another surprise in store for us on the way in was an approaching thunderstorm. We made it back in time though thankfully.
Water temp in the morning just outside the inlet was 62 degrees. Out on the reef it was 64, and by the time we left, it was almost 67.
All keeper fish were caught jigging with white bucktails and pink shine gulp. On the top teaser, squid strips and minnows were used.

After loading my boat for tuna fishing Tuesday evening, my slip neighbor convinced my buddy and I to join him on his 40′ sportfish for a trip out to the canyon. The last minute change of plans worked out, as we ended up with a total of 3 yellowfin for the day. While we were out there, whales, dolphins, and bait were all around. A great day on the water!

I took my neighbor and his grandson out for some fluke fishing in Great Bay on July 5th. They had a banner day as they both limited out with multiple 20-in fluke and one 5 lb beauty! Our total count was 8 fluke for the trip with me the low man.

I joined John Stuebing on the Wednesday before the 4th for an ocean fluke trip to LER. Weather, winds and drifting conditions were near perfect, but we really had to work for the fish. Total count was about a dozen shorts and three keepers – two at 19″ and one at 20″. Sadly, that’s our best fluke outing for 2024!

Wednesday I went on a friend’s boat fluke fishing in the Great Bay.  It was a slow bite but we found fish in deep water.  Bucktails tipped with pink and white Gulp jerk shads and live minnows were getting it done.  All four of us were picking up short fish and two of us got keepers, but not me ?.  My buddy Tommy, as seen in the photo, limited out with one fish weighing 5.09 lbs.  Even though it’s been slow lately, there’s definitely fluke out there.

We headed out Saturday to try for some keeper fluke. I decided to try the ocean but on the way out the inlet, a buddy radioed that the water temp near the beach was 52 degrees. I was originally going to fish shallower but decided to try the reef instead. Upon reaching the reef, the water temp was slightly better, 54 degrees. We did hit a fair amount of fog on the way out as well.

We immediately started catching some shorts which was a good sign. We managed a total of 10 shorts and 3 keepers. Two of the shorts were only an 1/8″ short. Oh well, back in they went. We also caught a couple sea bass, with one of them being a very nice fish. It was a shame to throw it back. The bite died off quick though , and we headed in early happy with what we were able to get. Baits included pink shine gulp, white gulp, squid strips and minnows. The fish seemed to be going after the minnows. Two guys were jigging, while the other two guys were just dragging rigs. I’d say that both methods worked equally well.