NOVEMBER 28, 2006

Fished a wreck off of Seaside with Doc. Rhee, Max, and Rudy where the action on the tog was slow to start, however the sea bass were ferocious.  The togging' soon came alive with some really nice fish.  When we lost the tide, the bite died to just a pick.  At one point we were fishing in tee shirts... go figure.. 

NOVEMBER 26, 2006

Rich had some friends out for a bottom trip to the reef.  We had Johnny Arizona back on the boat, as well as Fred (aqua "The Iceman"), and his girlfriend Natalia.  Fished a sunken tugboat on the reef which held some nice life.  We had tog up to 6 lbs, some porgies, and some sea bass.  Calm seas, good company, and hungry fish... what could be better?.

NOVEMBER 21, 2006

Got to fish with a long time friend who is in the area for a few weeks from Hawaii.  Spending the past few years in Hawaii, it came as no surprise when Doc. Billy Rhee called and wanted to go togging, and proved to me he is still a diehard fisherman.  So, out to the S.H.Reef we went finding action right away and lasting throughout most of the day.  Took home our limit and the releases were countless, as were the smiles on Doc' face..

NOVEMBER 19, 2006

Well, with the weather and some nice seas, we ran out to Monsters Ledge for yet another try on some tuna.  Sure didn't look the same as a week ago, and it proved to be true.  No bites on the tuna and only a few large bluefish to makeup the day.  Onboard were Rich and his neighbor Doug.

NOVEMBER 18, 2006

Fished one of the wrecks on the Sea Girt Reef with Rich and good friend Gerard, who, by the way, is always full of good energy and spirits.  Put together a decent catch of tog, some sea bass, and a few porgies.  Fun day on the water.

NOVEMBER 15, 2006

Rudy and I ran out to the Sea Girt Reef on the 26' Regulator for 2 hours and had good action with toggers.

NOVEMBER 11, 2006

Tried our luck back in the Mudhole fishing around Monster Ledge for blue fin tuna.  Just Rich, Rudy, and myself onboard today.  Before setting up, we saw some porpoise in the area, which was nice.  Wasn't long before the bluefish found us and the tying of new hooks began.  The work paid off, and we managed our first blue fin of the day - close to 50 lbs - the fish was released.

NOVEMBER 5, 2006

Fished the Sandy Hook Reef with my brother Max, and Captain Anthony on the Dead Eel for some tautog.  We took home 2 dozen out of an estimate of 50 tog, the largest going 8 pounds.

OCTOBER 31, 2006

Ran back out to the Ledge, this time with Rich and Shawn, seems they wanted in on the action too.  Looked over both the east and west side of the ledge - didn't see much in terms of fish - but there was tons of bait.  Back on the west side we set up and had a good run off only to pull the hook.  Well that was the only bite of the day.  With the sea getting uglier by the hour and no sign of the wind letting up we called it a day.  Only made 15 knots on the way home with lots of white water, just ask Shawn...

OCTOBER 27, 2006

Fished on the 26 Regulator with Rudy and Capt. Anthony (aqua THE EEL).  Back to the Mudhole we went in search of some school blue fin.  After getting to the Ledge a little late we dropped the hook on the west side.  Wasn't long before we had our first bite and yes it was a tuna, however we missed 'em.  Twenty minutes later Rudy had one on quickly followed by as second rod going off.  I set the hook and the battle was on.  the only problem was Rudy and I got tangled up, and tin the process of over and under my fish ran and cut Rudy's clean off.  After honestly getting a little ass kickin' we boated and released an estimated 50 lbs blue fin.  Sorry Rudy.  Well he got his chance again and I'm still wondering who caught who.  A half hour later another 50 lber released on a twenty pound out fit.  Ended the day going 2 for 6.  have to say it was really nice to see some tuna back in the hole.

OCTOBER 21, 2006

Had Rich and friends Michael P from CT, Brian and Scott from Maryland, and Sandy from NY out for bass/bottom fishing.  Bass were no where to be found and the sea bass, porgies, and tog were all on the small side.  Maybe it had something to do with the 20-25mph NW winds - I don't know - go figure.  Caught one bass, approximately 18lbs.

OCTOBER 15-16, 2006

Chartered by Capt. Ed and his friends/employees for an overnight chunking trip.  headed to the east wall of the Hudson along with every other boat on the east coast, this was where the best water was.  Arriving before sunset we went on the drift jigging in sloppy 4-5' seas.  Had some marks but no takers and the drift was really fast.  Spent some time looking around for a spot to anchor.  Besides there being about 70 boats in the area, the squid boats (10 of them to be exact) were dragging the edge.  Many boats were losing their anchors to the squid boats, who didn't seem to have a care for the tuna boats.  Not wanting to put the safety of our crew in jeopardy, or wishing to lose our anchor, we spent the night making short drifts through the fleet.  Around 5:30am after getting rocked all night, some of the boats that did anchor were into the fish.  We looked to drop the hook and there wasn't much room.  Unable to get in the area we stayed on the drift and conditions were starting to improve.  Finally we had a few bites, unfortunately we didn't capitalize on it.  Then with some relief we boated a yellow fin around 8:00am.  Usually by 8:00am we would've been an hour into our trip home, however Capt. Ed and his crew were the most experienced and not to mention funny, kind, and down to earth.  So we made an exception for them to stay longer and put some fish in the boat.  Well, the fish were hard to come by.  We marked fish under the boat every drift - most of which had lock jay except a few.  Four long fin spiced up the catch and put a smile on our faces.  e really worked hard for these fish that ranged 45-55 pounds; it just seemed like everything was against us from the beginning.  Capt. Ed and crew - we would love to have you back - thanks for being so patient and helping out.  Also thanks NOAA for that wonderful forecast, your 2-3' was more like 5-7'. 

OCTOBER 3-4, 2006

Capt. Bob Pisano invited me on a fun trip aboard the Antoinette.  We headed towards the Carteret Canyon with owner Teddy, His close friend Dominick, Frank and his son Craig, along with two very good friends of mine- Capt. Scott and Capt. Anthony.  Anchored a few miles North of the Carteret where the tail end of a warm eddy was.  Beautiful blue 73 degree water with lots of bait.  It didn't take long for the tuna to show up.  Had 4 yellows by 10pm with a little lull until about 2am.  Started marking a lot of fish with a bite here and there, and wasn't long until they went on the feed.  By dawn we stopped fishing, putting 11 more yellow fin in the 60-90lb. range and 2 large long fin going 62 and 65lbs.  Also, pulled the hook on a swordfish just out of gaff range.  Thanks for the call Bob.

OCTOBER 1, 2006

Fished some wrecks 5 to 7 miles off the beach for sea bass.  We caught 46 sea bass up to 3 pounds, clams and spearing were the choice bait.  Onboard for the day were Rich, Iceman, Stanley,   Johnny V, Rudy and myself.

SEPTEMBER 26, 2006

Myself and Rudy took the 26' Regulator out again for giant tuna in the Mudhole.  This time we fished The Arundo, here we had some bluefish again and very possibly marked our first giant of the year.

SEPTEMBER 21-22, 2006

Rudy and myself were invited on a canyon trip with a friend of ours, Capt. Lenny , who runs the Xiphais out of Brielle Yacht Club.  Headed out with his boss and some friends of his to the east wall of the Hudson Canyon.  Anchoring in 600 ft. we caught 9 yellow fins from 60-80 lbs.  along with a swordfish in the 100 pound class.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2006

Heard of some talk about Giant Blue fins in the Mudhole so Rudy and myself had to check it out first hand.  Set up around the Monster Ledge where we caught bluefish and dogfish - no signs what so ever of any tuna.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2006

Had Rich and friends, Gene and Linda, from Philly out for a shot lunch cruise.  Lunch came from Philly and boy was it good.  Philly cheese steaks all around, Rudy was in heaven.

SEPTEMBER 9-10, 2006

Rich, Rudy, and myself got invited on a fun trip aboard the Lil'Rascals.  This is the boat we fished the MA 500 with owner, Larry Grafis.  We fished the 100 Square where we spent the night chunking.  We went 1 for 5 on yellow fins and 1 for 2 on long fin.

SEPTEMBER 4, 2006

Did a lunch cruise with Rich, Iceman and friends up to Barh's Restaurant in Highlands.

AUGUST 19-25, 2006 MID ATLANTIC 500 TOURNAMENT

Had the pleasure of running Larry Graffis' boat, a 55ft Hatteras, where he and Rich went in as partners for the tournament.  The crew onboard were Rich, Larry and his son Mike, Rudy, myself, and Rich's friend Glenn.  The tournament was Monday through Friday, held out of Cape May, and you could fish any three days of the five.  The MA 500 is strictly a marlin and tuna tournament where the white marlin usually pays out well over $500,000.00 to the winner.

We fished Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday - these were the best days for sea conditions.  We focused on strictly fishing for white marlin.  We went 2 for 13 on whites, neither of the 2 met the size requirements so they were released.  Unfortunately we did miss quite a few fish.  Guess that's why they call it fishing instead of catching.  We fished mainly in 500 fathoms east of the Carteret, on up to Toms and Hendrickson Canyon where we found blue 80 degree water.  We were running 100 miles out on average which made for 3 long days.

Everyone did their job and worked hard.  We all had a great time, a big thank you to my crew... There's always next year.

AUGUST 17, 2006

Fished for fluke up off of The Red Church with Rich, Richs godson Evan, Laurie, Cassondra, and Diandra.  The few hours we fished did produce 4 keepers from 2 1/2 to 5 lbs, and many throwbacks.

 

AUGUST 13-14, 2006

I got an invite to fish with Captain Bob Pisano, who if you don't know was one of, if not, the best giant tuna fisherman of his time.  He still runs a private sportfish out of Shark River at the age of 75.

Two other good friends of mine were on the boat as we headed for The Hudson Canyon... Captain Scott Attaway, and Captain Anthony Azzariti.  Set up for the chunk and put 2 yellow fins in the boat right away that went 45 and 60 lbs.  The rest of the night was quiet.  Did manage a small sword and a blue shark.  In the morning the troll produced one more yellow fin, about 40 lbs.

AUGUST 11, 2006

Pulled out of the slip at midnight and put us on a course for The Lindy.  Onboard were Rich, "The Ice Man", Rudy, and myself.  On the troll just before sunrise we searched around for some life.  Talked to some guys who fished that night and said it was slow, so we worked our way up to the north towards The Carteret.  Got a call from Philly on The Canyon Runner who was into a good bite.  Knowing he was only a few miles in the direction we were heading... we picked up an ran.

Only took a few minutes to get the first bite of the morning which would only be followed by 10 more.  Finished the day at noon with 11 yellow fins 30-55 lbs.  Almost all of the fish were caught on spreader bars.

 

AUGUST 6, 2006

Had Rich, his brother Mike, and Mikes son Josh out for a day of fluke fishing.  Fished south of the inlet where we found plenty of shorts but no keepers.  Moved offshore in deeper water with some structure, and found 2 keepers along with some sea bass.

 

AUGUST 5, 2006

Mike Meanie and two of his friends chartered us for a bluefish trip.  Fished out at 17 Fathoms where it didn't take long to get the fish biting.  Had 2 and 3 fish on consistently for 3 hours, released 80 fish and only kept a few for the table.

 

AUGUST 2, 2006

Had our first canyon trip of the year and a successful one at that.  We had Freddie Radilik, his fiancé Julia, and her father out for a day troll on the west side of the Hudson Canyon.  The day started off slow with a yellow, followed a while later by a long fin - until all hell broke loose.  Found 3 whales feeding on bait and with the first pas we went 3 for 5 on yellow fins.  The next pass went 4 for 6... once again all yellow fins.  We managed one more in that same location before the charter decided to call it quits.  1 long fin was 40 lbs, and 9 yellow fin were 30 - 60 lbs... oh yeah... and a small mahi.

 

JULY 30, 2006

Rich had a very special guest, and some friends out today.  If any of you follow professional kickboxing, you will know this guy, Fred "The Iceman", a world kickboxing champion.  I saw, and wore the big belt.  What an incredible individual and a kind-hearted man.  I can honestly say that I wouldn't want to piss him off, or even think about getting in the ring with him.

Oh yeah, we did fish, and put together a small catch of fluke.  Our other two guests were Kim, Valentina, and Larry.

 

JULY 26, 2006

Shoved off at 5:30am for the long journey home.  Sure was a great trip all around.  Wonderful people and friends, beautiful sites, mouth watering dinners and outstanding fishing.  Thanks again Rich for a wonderful trip and the hard work from Frankie and Rudy.

 

JULY 25, 2006

Some new and now great friends of ours that we met up a that the tournament told us about a good bite on blue fin tuna 8 1/2 miles off of Block Island.  We had to go and see first hand, and made the 35 mile run from Newport.  We arrived on the grounds around 7 am, and shortly after that, Cliff, our new friend showed up on his boat as well.  Trolling the area, we marked bait and tunas but were unsuccessful in getting them to bite, as was the same for Cliff.  Headed Eat a little where we found some scallop boats working the area.  Trolled behind them and saw nothing.  So, decided to start trolling towards Newport over some good bottom.  Here we had one fish come up and miss the spreader bar 3 times.  Oh well.  Cliff did manage one blue fin about 70 lbs... good going.  We later heard the bite did die off after the tropical storm passed.

 

JULY 24, 2006

Had the absolute pleasure of taking Cousin Stevie , Cheryl, Laurie and Walter out fluke fishing on his 79th birthday.  I just want everyone to know that this guy fished all day... and I mean all day!  He would take a quick drink an maybe a bite to eat between drifts, and right back to fishing.  A machine this guy is folks!  Walter, sorry the fishing was on the slow side, but you and everyone else managed some nice fish.  Fluke up to 5 1/2 lbs.  Wish you the best and hope t see you again next year.

 

JULY 23, 2006

Left the Vineyard and headed to our next destination - Newport, RI, where we would spend the next 3 days with some wonderful friend's of Rich.

 

JULY 22, 2006

Day 2, the last and final day of the tournament, spirits were high and the hopes of getting a qualifier were even greater.  Well, today the wind decided to blow even stronger and by the afternoon we were a rockin' and a rollin'.  Despite the conditions, we fished the same spot - and who wouldn't!  Things got off to a slow start and the water color and temperature wasn't what had been, but we were still confident in pulling a large shark out of this are.

We managed a few blue sharks and were wondering if we would see a mako.  Well, Mr. Mako did show up and it was a good one.  Taking a bluefish fillet and a screaming run, Rudy grabbed the rod an we all had a feeling this was one for the scales.  As the shark was running, Rudy engaged the drag to strike, and hit the shark hard with some short pumps to set the hook.  So, the normal routine followed with putting the harness on the angler, firing up the engines, and clearing the rods.  We fish with a lot of drag so we can figure out early what size fish we are dealing with.  Well, this fish never stopped taking the drag at a high rate of speed, and pretty much laughed at our 29 lbs of strike.  Now we knew for certain this was big mako, and before you knew it, he was gone.  With the line still screaming off the reel - the hook pulled, somehow the fillet folded over the hook and it just didn't penetrate.

With only a few hours left, we released 4 blue sharks and kept pondering about the one that got away.  We'll just never know.  In all we sure didn't complain, I mean how could you - with the fishing we experienced.  10 makes, 3 threshers, and 6 blue sharks.  I rest my case...

My crew was absolutely top notch and professional as they get, that includes you as well Rich - you worked hard and fought some real monsters.  Thanks guys - this is definitely one we will never forget.

 

JULY 21, 2006

Day one of the tournament.  With a tropical storm passing within 75 miles of us that night, we were all wondering if we or anyone would get out and fish.  At 8am we heard the forecast had changed and a few boats were heading out.  We figured we would take a shot too.  The seas ran about 6 to 8 feet and was safe enough to fish.

Getting to the same grounds we fished just 2 days ago, took some time and some patience.  We were all excited to see if the sharks stuck around.  Within the first hour we missed a mako, but only to be followed by a day we will never forget.  From 1:45pm until lines out at 5:30pm, we caught and released 7 makos from 60 lbs to qualify, and blue sharks had to be 300 lbs or better.  This is why they call it "The Monster Shark Tournament"

I really didn't think anything could've topped out practice day, but 7 makos and 3 that were estimated to be 125, 180, and 200 lbs ... come on!

 

JULY 19, 2006

Left Montauk around 5:30am and made a 76 mile run to look over a spot before the tournament starts on Friday.  The area we picked out proved to be a good choice.  In only 3 hours of fishing we released 3 makos up to 125lbs, and 3 threshers that estimated 150, 200, and 350 lbs.  Too bad it wasn't a tournament day.  What an awesome 3 hours of fishing - it doesn't get much better than this!  From here we ran 25 miles into the Vineyard, where we would be spending the next 4 days.

 

JULY 18, 2006

Spent the last week getting the boat ready to fish the Monster Shark Tournament up in Martha's Vineyard.  Left Manasquan around 7am and arrived up in Montauk that afternoon.  Our crew for the tournament is Rick, Rudy, our good friend Frankie, who also fished with us last year, and myself.

 

JULY 9, 2006

Tried our luck hoping to find some stripers still lurking around off Highlands and the Rocks.  Caught some bluefish, but no bass to speak of.

 

JULY 8, 2006

Had Rich and his brother out for a day of shark fishing.  Fished the Glory Hole where we had no wind or drift, and very little life, so we moved over to the Mud Hole on the east side.  Same conditions existed here as well, so we called it a day around 3 o'clock with nothing to show for our strong effort.

 

JULY 4, 2006

Tried our luck on a busy day for some bass with Rich and Rudy.  Got bait outside the inlet and ran up to the north and found the action to be slow everywhere.  Did manage 4 bass up to 24lbs. and some large gators.  Finished the day up just before mother nature's fireworks.  Happy 4th of July.

 

JUNE 23-25, 2006

We were chartered for the Mako Mania and the Jersey Coast Shark Tournaments.  We fished all 3 days with Dominick, Tom, Mario, and Sean.  These guys are die-hard shark fisherman who charter us every year and are always a pleasure to have onboard.

Day 1 - We took a beating traveling down towards the Fingers in solid 6-foot seas.  Here we caught 2 blue sharks, followed by a small mako that measured 2 inches over the requirement.  On the scales it went 117lbs... not heavy enough to qualify.

Day 2 - The seas were a little calmer and thought we would try our luck out towards the Glory Hole and Rockpiles.  Here we fought and released seven blue sharks and missed our only really good run off of the day, most likely "Mr. Mako".

Day 3 - Fished southwest side of the Chicken Canyon up on the edge and managed 2 blue sharks and a mako about 100lbs, all were released.

Hope to see you guys next year, and some bigger mako's too!  Thank you again, and thank you Rudy for your work in the pit.

 

JUNE 21, 2006

Had Rich, his father Jack, Andy and Steve (friends of Jack's) and Rudy, out for a bass trip up to the Rocks, and off Highlands Bridge.  We put a great catch together keeping 5 bass and releasing a few others.  Heaviest bass went 43lbs - what a beauty... followed by a 30lber, 23, 21, and a 18lber.  Live bunker and dead produced.

 

JUNE 18, 2006

Rudy and Mullet fished just north of Seaside around the bunker schools and caught 4 bass up to 23lbs.

 

JUNE 13, 2006

Ran up to the Rocks in the afternoon with Rudy where we took some decent bass on live bunkers.

 

JUNE 11, 2006

Rudy had the small boat out by himself and landed four bass on spoons at the Rocks.

 

JUNE9, 2006

Had THE BIG BOY out for her sea trial to test the new rebuilds.  The Boat ran great!

BOOK YOUR CHARTERS NOW!

 

JUNE 3, 2006

Fished the Hi Mar Striped Bass Tournament on Saturday with Rich and Rudy.  Had a decent day of fishing but couldn't find the big one's.  Our heaviest fish went 24lbs.

 

MAY 29, 2006

Had a fireman's Memorial Day Parade to attend so Rudy had Rich and his father Jack went out fluke fishing.  With the water temps still a little cool for fluke, caught 2 keepers and 15 throwbacks.

 

MAY 28, 2006

After yesterdays poor showing of bass, we tried some bottom fishing on the Sandy Hook Reef.  Here we put together a catch of tog, sea bass, and porgies.  10 keeper sea bass and 4 go.  Rich, Constantine, Rudy, and myself.

 

MAY 27, 2006

With the action slow in the area, we made a run up to fish West Bank off of Chapel Hill Channel for bass.  After netting bait in the harbor we got to the gounds just as the bite was dying off.  Got one bass and a bunch of blues.  Called it an early day with all of the Memorial Day boat traffic.  Onboard were Rich, Johnny "B", Rudy, and myself.

 

MAY 24, 2006

Bringing the boat back down to Manasquan, my brother Max jumped onboard, for he knew we would stop and fish somewhere.  He was right, and caught fish we did.  Had the bass off Asbury with the bunkers and managed 13 bass 25 to 30lbs.  These fish fought like they were on steroids.

 

MAY 20-21, 2006

Brought the boat up to the Highlands area for a weekend ASA Bass Tournament held out of Bahr's Landing.  This is one of the largest bass tournaments to come through our area with a lot of team sponsored boats.  Only one fish can be weighed per day, and the total of your 2 day- 2 fish combined weight depicts 1st through last.

On day one, we stuck to our game plan and it paid off.  Finding some fish in 60ft of water, and having live bait, I knew we would pull a big fish from this spot.  Sure enough, the third fish caught went 37lbs and we had a good feeling this would place us in the top three.  At weigh-in on day one, our fish was in 1st with the next closest being 4 pounds behind.

Day two and spirits high, we once again stayed with our strategy.  Found fish short of our first stop, breaking the surface chasing bunkers.  We stopped the boat and had fish on instantly, only these fish only averaged in the low 20lb class.  Got a call from a friend who was catching big fish, and made the 3 mile run, where our day was going to being originally.  Manager a 32lber here, which we knew we needed to stay close to the top of the leader board.  Back at Bahr's for final weigh-in and tensions were high.  Caught rumor on the docks a 44lb fish was weighed and the hopes of 1st place dwindled.  A boat in 4th place on day one had the big fish, and bumped us to 2nd.

2nd place sounds good enough to me.  Special thanks to my crew. Rich and Rudy - great job as always.  Was also nice to see the top 4 finishers go to the local captains in the area, and not the team boats.

 

MAY 18, 2006

Rich, Rudy, Johnny "B", and myself were back at the rocks with the spoons.  Caught our limit of bass ranging up to 32lbs, and released another six.

 

MAY 17, 2006

Fished on the Dead Eel today, a 23 Regulator, with two food friends of mine - Capt. Scott Attaway, and Capt. Anthony Azzaritti.  Left from the Highlands area and ran up into the Raritan Reach for a busy day of bass fishing.  Had the tanks full with live bunkers and in no time had some tight lines.  After the ride changed, the fishing turned red hot.  Each drift produced multiple double and triple headers.   Final estimated count for the day, was over 40 fish up to 30lbs - all but one fish was released.

 

MAY 14, 2006

Back out again hoping for the same action as yesterday.  Didn't find the bunker, but we did find the bass.  Had the fish on the rocks and managed some more off of Deal on the spoons.  Along with Rich, Rudy, and myself was Rich's sons' good friend Josh.  He caught his largest bass to date... a 23lber, and is a natural with the spooning rods.

 

MAY 13, 2006

Had a banner day bass fishing with live bunkers and trolling spoons.  Had the bass early on the spoons, then the bunker showed up and it was fishing at it's best.  Rich, Rudy, and myself caught our limit of 25 to 33lb bass and released 34, all in the same size bracket.  Wish we had a film crew.

 

MAY 7, 2006

Fished just North of the Manasquan Inlet.  The bunkers showed up early along the beach so we gave it a go...  We caught one bass and some monster bluefish.  Think it just needs a few more days to develop.

 

MAY 6, 2006

Dusted off the spooning rods and headed up to the Shrewsbury Rocks for some trolling.  Had 12 bass up to 20lbs.  Fish were all caught early in the AM on green and yellow spoons.  Rich, Rudy, and myself were The Charter.

 

MAY 4, 2006

Rich and Rudy made a trip out to the Sea Girt Reef and put together a catch of tog, sea bass, ling, and a cod.

 

APRIL 26, 2006

Headed up to Great Kills, Staten Island, for some early live lining action on the striped bass.  Had trouble netting bunkers in the harbor which ate up some time and ended up missing the bite.  Was great to see the bunkers around and finally fishing for some bass.

 

APRIL 25, 2006

Tried the Sea Girt Reef for some tog and turned out to be very slow.  Water temp 51 degrees.

APRIL 15, 2006

Made a run out to try our hand at some blackfishing.  Proved to be a good call because they were snapping.  Rich, Johnny "B", Rudy and myself fished a spot in 65ft of water and a sea temp of 47 degrees.  Kept our limit out of 25 tog that came over the side with average weight of 5lbs on up to 9lbs.  Green crabs were the choice of bait; a lot of dogfish on clams.

 

APRIL 14, 2006

With THE BIG BOY getting new rebuilds on the engines and a completion date around the first week in June, all trips posted for the time being are on THE BIG BOY II (The Regulator 26).

Fished the Manasquan River for some winter flounder with Rich, his brother Jeff and his two sons Spencer and Evan, and 1st Mate Rudy.  Despite a chilly day and wishing I was still in Florida, the gang managed 7 flatties and some throwbacks.

 

MONTH OF MARCH 06'

Set off to Florida on March 1st in Rich's Denali and the 26 Regulator (THE BIG BOY II) close behind.  Twenty-six hours later we arrived at our final destination - Fort Lauderdale.  For the next thirty days... this would be home.

With March being the so called "windy month", we did manage quite a few trips.  We caught a small variety of bottom fish, along with king fish, mahi mahi's, and the always acrobatic sailfish.  The water temps were in the 70's, and I think that it only rained twice.

When we weren't fishing, we cruised the intercoastal waterway.  Here we found some great restaurants for lunch and dinner.  The outside bars were a hit for sunset cruises.

During our stay, numerous quests came down to visit.  Here's a list:  Bob O, Michael "Fish Eye" P, Billy A, Shawn, Carrie, Laura, Cousin Stevie, Cousin Cheryl, Brother Jeff, Niece Rachel, Marco and his mother, and George from Chicago.  Personally, I had such a wonderful time with each and everyone of these individuals - thank you, and especially Rich.