9/7 Fluke Report on Jersey Key

[MVP]

Received a late invite from my friend Anthony from the Tackle box to fish with his friend Capt. Mike on the Jersey Key which is a 31′ Ocean Master with twin Cummins Diesel engines out of Atlantic Highlands. I have been on just about every center console boat out there and this thing blew me away as it is truly a " TANK" of a Fishing Machine. I have always liked this boat since it came out so I could not pass the chance to go on board for this trip. Anthony also suckered me in by telling me we might try for some inshore blackfishing and even bought the crabs if time permitted. Bucktailing fluke and blackfishing on the same day are you kidding me. These are two of my favorite things to do so I was all in. It also gave me opportunity to fish with my friend Anthony who rarely gets a chance to fish as he is working at the shop all the time. We headed south to the sticky stuff and picked away at some nice fluke throughout the day. We did not get to try for blacks as we would have had to run further south and it would not have given us enough time.

I ended up with 6 nice keepers in the 4-7 lb range to help put a dent in his huge fish box. I really enjoyed my day as I was able to bounce my custom 5 oz Sam the Sinkerman jig all day on my custom tied rigs that seem to do the trick. Capt Mike knows his stuff so you will not be disappointed if you give him a try. He is a sponsor here under Atlantic Highlands Charter boats. Did I mention the boat is Sick and a dream to fish on.

[captnvinny]

Nice limit there Alex, glad you are back on your "A" game!

[shrimpman steve]

Very nice looking ride. I do believe I have seen her out there.

Nice to see a report from you. You deserve it.

[Riverbassfishing]

Great trip Alex too bad u didn't get a shot at blackfish

[MVP]

Steve,

Overall it has been a pretty good year for me on the fluke. Mostly fished the tournaments with a few open boat and charter trips mixed in.
No one wants to hear about the limit catches tournament time when you are catching 3-7 pounders. The box may look nice at the end of trip but we are normally fishing for that one fish to get you on the board. 5-7 pounders normally do not cut it on tournaments as we have some of the best flukers competing for the prize and bragging rights.

Total of 9 fluke trips this year. Best trip has been 12 keepers and worst being 1 keeper. Nine trips with 50 keepers = 5.55 average. Plan on doing 2 more trips before the season ends. Hope to end the season with a limit average for the year. Best fish this year has been 8 lbs. The double digit has eluded me so far this year but hopefully will get him within the next 2 weeks.

[Art Berkman]

Good stuff Alex!

My friend Rick has a 31 Ocean Master and a majority of my fishing is now on his boat.Almost sure Mikes dad sold him the boat.

Gotta Love those Ocean Masters !!!

[vinntastic]

Fished with mike on an invite,the boat is sweet and the capt will put you on the meat, limits plus that day...dont be shy guys give the jersey key a try, you will not be disapointed...nice report alex;)

[Topeka Boy]

Nice Report Alex limit keepers on a tough day.:cool::cool:

[MVP]

Will
I too wish we had time to do some blackfishing as we had crabs. I was so looking forward to catching some mules in shallow water. Come October those rubber lips are going to be in trouble.

Topeka
Was a tough day but Capt Mike Short drifted areas that were producing keepers to give us a shot at Keepers. Anthony and I both dropped a few nice fish. would have loved to get them on board as one I lost was most probably pushing 8 pounds. Another half dozen cranks and he would have been in the net.

[hammer4reel]

Nice report.

as you posted this was def a VERY good year of fluking.
Just had to find the smaller pieces holding the fish and stay on them.
Guys doing that have been rewarded with great catches

[MVP]

Dan you are so right. It really makes me appreciate how hard it is doing what some of you Captians can do to put a catch together. There is a lot of water out there. Knowing what areas to target and then being able to get boat to drift over that specific area with all the different variable (Wind, Current, tide etc..) is no easy task. Just following out the party boats and following there drift does not make you a good captain.

When it comes to blackfishing and anchoring a boat to sit on piece the size of a volkswagon. It blows me away on how easy the pros make it look. I had boat for 4 years and had some decent trips some of it was skill but for the most part there was much more luck involved as I would give myself a C as a captain. It is one thing to catch fish but it is totally a different animal to put your guys on the fish. I am pretty good at catching but have to take a back seat to the Captain side of things.

That is why I rather pay a few bucks and let the pros do the boat handling so I can focus on just catching without all the headaches that come with being a boat owner. Hats off to the guys who can do this for a living or private guys that know their stuff.