MVP 2015 Fishing Reports

[MVP]

One of the great things about this site is getting real time honest fishing reports from sponsors as well as individual anglers. Many of members here use this info in planning trips as well as picking up tips that might help them become a better angler. Also whenever someone is in need you have a group of members that are willing to step up to the plate and help out in whatever way they can.

I have been crazy busy in 2014 and have not posted many reports so I have felt a little guilty that I have not been contributing and doing my part. Between work 60-80 hr weeks (Named Top Academic Advisor for the second straight year. It takes a lot effort to generate 3X the production of the average reps around the country ) and taking care of family, neighbors and whatever other cause gets my attention. That does not leave much time for anything else except for a couple hours of sleep and a few fishing trips a month. Focusing on the tip of my rod and deciding on when to swing is my sanctuary. We are all busy with our lives so that is no excuse not to give back to site who has been so generous to both me and others.
Going forward in 2015 I need to step up my game and pay it back forward and be more proactive in posting reports

I hope to share a few things that might help others improve their catch. I am no expert but one thing for sure is that I fish with some of the best fisherman, I am observant, a good listener and am willing to share info. I will start with a quick summary of 2014 Blackfish season (Oct - Dec) from RI, NY and NJ.

11 trips
86 Keepers (ORL)
7.8 Avg.

After almost 30 years of togging I am always trying to improve my craft. One thing I started doing this year to get more bites is dropping down in leader size when bite was slow. I picked this up while fishing with Tommy Joseph last year on open boat trip. We were having a slow day overall while Capt Tommy caught his limit in about 30 min of total fishing time while most of us struggled to catch 2-3 keepers fishing the entire trip. What I noticed was he was fishing 20 lb mono light leader. Depending on bottom you are fishing that may not be the best idea as you will loose a lot of rigs and will have a very difficult time landing big tog if that leader rubs up against any rough bottom. If you are trophy hunting leave it home. If you are looking to get more bites I have seen it make a difference. I have never fished 20 but have dropped down to 30 lb on occasion and dropped hook size to 2/0 and 3/0.

Another thing I think has helped with my numbers is fishing a longer leader especially when bite is scratchy. Fishing longer leader and softer rod I believe helps me put more fish in the boat when bite is light as fish does not get to feel weight of sinker or tension in line and does not back off the bait.

My most important bit of advice to increase your catch is to find out what boat Shrimpman Steve is fishing that day and make sure to either fish different boat or do not let him touch your rod at any point of the trip. Sorry could not resist. I did not take many pictures last year as best I could do is several 8 lb fish prior to 10 pounder at the PUOSU on the OE. Overall I would rate it as pretty good year.

With 2014 behind me it is all about targeting double digit tog in the early part of 2015. Was lucky enough to get invite from NY Tog Fanatics to join charter they had in MD on Jan 11-12th. Was fortunate enough to get to solid weather days in Jan and got both days in which is a win in itself.

Day 1
Crew consisted of Rocco, Bill (Reelcranky), Brad (Viking) and myself. I really enjoy getting to fish with NY guys as some of the best black fisherman reside in NY.
We were greeted with cold weather and needed to break ice in order to get out into the ocean. After a long steam capt spread his anchors and had us on the piece. Started to get some bites and started to put a few fish in the box. Not what we were looking for as Capt new we were not looking for numbers but were looking for some PB for our crew of seasoned toggers. We would get a few and then it would die out. That scenario repeated itself through out the day. We worked hard to put our 4 man limit together. I ended up with 4 keepers up to my 8 pounder. Not what we were hoping for but it was not for lack of effort as captain tried many drops and had us on great bottom all day. After reading report we had a decent day as boats from MD up to NJ had a tough bite that day.

Day 2
Capt decided to try a little deeper and try some new wrecks he has not fished yet. We were all like kids at Christmas and could not wait to get out and drop our crabs. Weather was warmer on day 2 and ice was not an issue heading out. First spot was slow as we only managed a few keepers. Capt made about a 12 minute run and got us on the wreck. What a difference a day makes. Fish were on the chew as the bite was more aggressive than previous day. We did most of our damage on this wreck. With a nice box of keepers we were thrilled with the quantity and quality of fish we had. Capt wanted to try one more wreck before calling it a day. Truly appreciate Capt's that do not fish by the clock and give you that extra effort. You can not guarantee catching but you can guarantee effort and working extra hard for your customers. Had decent bite again with a few more jumbos as well as a few more heart breaks on fish that were not ready to come up and made short work of 60-80 lb rigs. We ended the day with:

* Boat limit (24 Fish)
* 7 fish between 10 - 14 lbs
* Released over 15 keepers including 5 of the 7 double digit fish that were healthy enough to swim away including Bill's Monster male at 14 lbs.

Could not have asked for a better way to break in my 2015 blackfish season. I ended my trip with a 13 keepers (ORL) and 3 fish over 10 lbs with biggest just over 12 lbs. I was very happy to see the guys wanting to release the big fish. All us big tog hunters are looking for that 20 pounder and understand that the best way to ever get a shot of a fish that big is if we continue to release those big male/female tog so that they can continue to grow and put smiles on other blackfisherman who may be lucky enough to catch them.

For those of you who are new to fishing down south or are looking for to target trophy tog I would leave the 20-40 lb rigs at home as the wrecks there are not forgiving not to mention that 12- 20 lb tog will literally break your hearts. Most guys are fishing a minimum of 50 lbs with 60 to 80 lb rigs being the norm.

Wanted to thank Rocco for the invite and for the NY guys bringing in a NJ togger into their crew.

[SplitShot]

Great Short Story with my morning coffee!!! Thanks!! :D

[fishingmortgageman]

What a day Alex. Congrats on a great season and letting the big ones live.

[shrimpman steve]

Once again how did I get dragged into this:D

[Tognut]

MVP,
Nice report. Sounds like a good tog season to me :) I got my PB early in the season. Then my season ended with an injury to my shoulder, and my hopes of fishing thru January were quickly dashed. My two friends fished quite a lot this season, and did well on most trips, with some new PB fish caught. My wife is more than tired of my whining that I can't tog fish !!
I am awaiting my surgery date, so I can be ready for the spring season, and of course next TOG season ! Someday I will get down south and check out that fishery. Thanks to Jerry, and this site, I can check the reports & pics about 6 times a day :D
Perhaps I will see you on the tog grounds this year!

Rich B

[hartattack]

Nice dinosaur hunting field trip ALex. You're now the lone honorary NJ member of "The A-team". :)

And congrats on 2nd straight Academic advisor award - keep it up !

[Gerry Zagorski]

Congrats on the Top Academic Advisor awards Alex. Some people might call it luck but as you've proved, the harder you work the luckier you get.

That goes for fishing too :)

I hear you on the sancuary of fishing. Nothing else can cleanse the mind and ease the stress like a day out on the water. When I come home from fishing I'm always in a great mood.

Work hard and play harder!!

[PeteyHD]

Thanks for the report MVP. You are a gentleman and a scholar. Congratulations on your award.

[NoWorries]

Hi Alex, nice report and thanks for sharing ! :D

[Blackfish Doug]

Nice report Alex too bad I can't handle the cold anymore.

[Joey Dah Fish]

First congrats on winning the award yet again. You certainly do pour everything you have into all your ventures. It's nice to see that your hard work has paid off and is recognised by others. Atta Boy!!!!! Sound like you had some great togging too. Thanks ever so much for a great story and all the advise and tips. I will retain much of it and apply accordingly. I really appreciate the time you take out of your busy schedule to share your knowledge and spread good will. It always a pleasure to see people like you succeed. See you soon and catchem up!!!!

[D-ROD]

Nice report Alex, it would taken me two weeks to write all that.. Lol
Looks like an awesome season , congrats!!

[Chris1129]

Very Nice MVP, and a what a well written report!

[Capt. Lou]

Alex congrats on ur work achievement award ! Getting that invite to fish with a group of solid NY toggers icing on the cake !
I hope u understand now they have really gotten to know u , ur chances of future invites ? able !
That's OK ur still welcome on my boat if I ever buy one again!

[bender]

awesome report. I love the tog game, but I am somewhat new to it and inexperienced. Reading reports like this with detailed tips and suggestions that go beyond the basics are invaluable. Thank you (and many others) who take the time to share detailed reports, successful techniques, and terminal tackle. It is your good nature and willingness to share this info that saves years of trial and error, and frustration for an average but very eager to improve angler like myself. I applaud you. Congrats on the great trip, the beautiful fish, making new friends, and the employment success.

[kurtisb]

Alex, Congrats on the repeat award and the great fishing. Very nice report as always, but I don't NO about that hat.

[Bucktailboys.com]

Nice report Alex, do miss reading your posts but work and the family are definitely priorities.

[Dollar Bill]

Great way to start the year off Alex. Nice report and congrats on the work award!

[Gerry Zagorski]

And, you have to love the shameless and continued ball busting of SMS ;)

[shrimpman steve]

No such thing as bad publicity. I can't even bitch at Alex as he is way to nice and classy:). As a matter of fact, just happy I was mentioned in such a well written and good report.

PS. I will be on the monger on Saturday:eek:

[TomKaye]

Congrats on the award Alex & thanks for that tip on leader size.
Thanks also for being your neighbor's keeper.
I too have fished for tog for 30 years........one or two trips per year.
Enjoy reading your stuff, and I always learn something from many of the guys
on this site.
Hope to fish with you sometime.

Tom K.

[MVP]

Hi Alex, nice report and thanks for sharing ! :D

John,
Hope to get out with you this winter and see you put a deep bend on your Super Tog

[MVP]

Nice report Alex too bad I can't handle the cold anymore.

Come on Doug. What ever happened to that bad ass Guy who use to live in Brooklyn. I hope living in NJ has not softened you up. Do not let weather hold you back. Put a few hand Warner's under your ball sack and get out fishing

[MVP]

Alex, Congrats on the repeat award and the great fishing. Very nice report as always, but I don't NO about that hat.

Do not be hating the hat. I like the orange crab looking design on hat especially when i am blackfishing as i want to be one with the crab.
As Blackfish Bobby always says.

" It's all about the Bait about the Bait"

[kurtisb]

Do not be hating the hat. I like the orange crab looking design on hat especially when i am blackfishing as i want to be one with the crab.
As Blackfish Bobby always says.

" It's all about the Bait about the Bait"

That's a spider, the reason bananas are banned on boats.

[MVP]

I love bananas:D

[MVP]

Had the opportunity to get out and fish with one of my favorite captains yesterday. (Capt. Jerry on the Fishmonger). Was excited to get out as Jerry was planning on hitting a few places in deep water looking for some slobs.

We had a great group of guys on board including many njfishing members (Joey dafish, Henry (jigemup), Stelios, Sal (Liawa) and myself. Not sure if other guys were members. There was guy named Kevin who was awesome guy helping with netting fish and helping john out, two guys from Mt Laurel who were both good fisherman and a few others who I did not know. 10 guys in total.

Sal was high hook I believe with 7 keepers. There were a few limits caught and then down from there. I ended the day with 4 nice keepers including a 9 and 8 pounder. Joey and Henry had a few nice fish to add to the box. Stelios had a the pool winner with a nice 12 pounder. It is not by accident that he catches a lot of big fish as he is one of the best blackfisherman I know. My tip of the day is to cast around if you are not getting bites. Guys who casted around rather then just droping down caught.

Can not thank Jerry enough for giving us extra time as we got into a late bite and put a few extra fish in the box. Nice long Monger day as we did not leave until 4 pm for the ride home. I greatly appreciate people who take pride and are passionate about their work. Go above and beyond what is expected and over deliver. He truly runs a great operation including his mate John who is top notch.

Overall a decent day considering this is winter tog fishing. We had a great crew and nice weather considering it was Jan 20th. We put together a decent catch considering bites were at a premium. Ended the day with 28 keepers.

[MVP]

Heading down to fish in OC, MD tomorrow. Was suppose to be 2 day trip but Sat has been cancelled. Hope to have a positive report when I get back. Stay tuned.

[Joey Dah Fish]

Catchem up Alex's good luck!!!

[PaBeerGuy]

Heading down to fish in OC, MD tomorrow. Was suppose to be 2 day trip but Sat has been cancelled. Hope to have a positive report when I get back. Stay tuned.

Capt Kane Alex? I so want to do that boat too. How much longer will he be running and does he ever have opens?

[MVP]

Capt Kane Alex? I so want to do that boat too. How much longer will he be running and does he ever have opens?

Not Kane. Going out with Monty. Both guys run all winter weather permitting. Kane is pretty much booked up and Monty only does Open boat when weather forecast permits. Kane probably has some openings for charters in April and early may. We had 18 pounder with him at the end of April last year.

[kurtisb]

Not Kane. Going out with Monty. Both guys run all winter weather permitting. Kane is pretty much booked up and Monty only does Open boat when weather forecast permits. Kane probably has some openings for charters in April and early may. We had 18 pounder with him at the end of April last year.

Alex
According to my calendar that 18 pounder was caught on May 9th. I've had the pleasure of fishing with Don again twice this month on Tagged Fish. Man can he talk.

[MVP]

Headed down south to OC in search of Tog Heaven. Weather could not have been better as sun was shining and seas were calm. Had high expectations as always. Started off ok with 2 nice keepers with first fish at 8.6 lbs on my digital scale. Unfortunetly that is how my day ended with 2 keepers which is my worst date keeper wise to date. My first fish was leading the pool all day until last half hour when a 9 + and then a 25 inch 12+ lb female took home the prize after she was measured and released
Pool on this boat is by length and not weight which gives angler the option to release fish after measurement has been taken with minimill handling. Wish more boats would run pool this way. Total count for 13 anglers I believe was 17 keepers. Many other good toggers took home the skunk. You always have a shot of a PB down there but it is typical on some days to fish all day and get 2-3 bites. Wish I could have reported better catch with some nice pictures but it was not meant to be. Welcome to winter togging

[PaBeerGuy]

I know what you mean Alex. One of the toughest days I've ever seen on Jerry's boat too. Poor John worked his tail off today taking care of the anchors while Jerry kept looking for a bite for us. Maybe the incoming front had something to do with it? Who knows. If only the tog could tell us. :confused:

[MVP]

If you try to figure it out when fish will bite and why you would just drive yourself crazy. If Jerry could not find them they were just not going to bite that day regardless where you went. On our trip once you got a bite they chewed hard as it was not a scratchy bite. The problem was you had very few bites to swing at. I had 4 bites. Caught 2 dropped one 1/4 of the way up and shaved one of as my 60 pound leader just cut of clean on high piece.

[Tunarun]

Hi Alex, You sum up our whole trip pretty accurately. You had to make every bite count because one didn't get many. I didn't hit any Home runs or Pull any like you and Frank did but I sure would wished I had a chance to swing on some of yours n his bites. lol I hit a few infield hits, went 5 for 5 on keepers and one check swing. lol As always, it was fun to fish with you! Dennis

[Wilson]

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad44/spinfishguy/PUOSU%2011-29-2014/e0e0cc53-5b6a-4923-8f34-61e5598e2231_zpshvio5bho.jpg

[MVP]

Wilson,

A blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile. Not sure who that guy is but he sure is handsome:D

[Topeka Boy]

Alex Great story and recap of your year. :D I enjoyed reading it. I hope this is the year I get to fish with you.:cool:

[Wilson]

Wilson,

A blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile. Not sure who that guy is but he sure is handsome:D

After 1/2 hour of photo shopping better ....but along way from handsome:p

[Capt. Lou]

Wilson,

A blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile. Not sure who that guy is but he sure is handsome:D

I wonder if that guy in picture caught this fish off the bridge ? Why I'm asking I'm not sure it's a legal size tog ?? :cool:

[MVP]

As we all deal with this crappy weather I was surprised to get a picture with text entitled who is this guy. from good friend Carlos Bastos aka seabass7 on njfishing that put a smile on my face and warmed me up. Carlos use to write some of the best articles for the Fisherman magazine. Picture he sent me is from one of those articles. I am thinking article was from the 90's. Hopefully he will read this and respond back with year.

It bought back some great memories as looking back I can thank/blame Carlos and his 17 ft proline " Bottoms Up" for this fishing addiction especially blackfishing. I learned a lot from him fishing on his boat not to mention blackfish road trips to Buzzards Bay and VA where I caught my first DD tog.
No digital cameras back then so all pictures I have are in a photo album. Boy did we catch a ton of fish on that Proline. He really knows his bottom fishing and could anchor boat on piece the size of a Volkswagon. Now that he is in Fla he is picky up right where he left of in Jersey and has been putting some impressive catches together. The only difference now instead of seabass, blackfish, stripers, fluke the target is now Grouper, Snapper, Amberjack. Can not wait to get down again this year and do some damage on some southern bottom dwellars like we did last year with my two brothers from another mother. Carlos(seabass7)and Rob (Fishguts)

Amazing that this hobby we call fishing has blessed me with 2 of my best friends who just happen to be some of the best bottom fisherman and Capt's I know.

[seabass7]

That was 1998.

[MVP]

It feels good to post a report as my last trip was on 1/23/2015. Received a last minute invite from friend Donald to fish 6 pack out of OC, MD 4/11-4/12
My Calendar was full for sat and had blocked out my Sunday to get my tax papers in order. Go togging or being stuck at home all day doing paperwork. With killer forecast and chance to fish one of the top big blackfish capts. in MD you can guess what my choice was. GOING FISHING.

Saturdays group had slow fishing as they only had a few keepers targeting the deeper water, topped off by Donald's 10 pounder on his new super light outfit he purchased from Yong at jigging world. (Cheap plug for sponsor) Water temps just not right yet as fish were cold and not chewing. They did some drops on the way in and found water to be warmer in 4the shallower stuff. Not what the guys were hoping for but that is why they call it fishing.

Left my house at 2 am for the drive down for Sundays trip. Arrived at the boat about 5:45 am. Within the next 15 minutes the rest of the crew showed up (Donald, Bucktail Bob, Tyrone and Ken Westerfeld the new pending blackfish world record holder. First time fishing with Ken so it was a pleasure to relive the catch we all dream off with him. Super nice guy so I am very happy for him as he has put in his time and knows his stuff.

Being water temps were warmer in the shallow water, Capt decided to focus in that area as fish in the deep previous day were not on the chew. Weather was warm, winds were light and had crew of really good fisherman. Could not have asked for better bait as we had (Whiteleggars, Greens, clams and giant hermits) One thing I did notice were the whites were very light. I guess from hanging and not eating all winter there is not much meat on them.

Overall fishing was a grind. Never could get a real good bite going as we would get a few on each spot before bite died and we would move on.
Capt is one of the best so it was not for lack of effort. Capt gave us extra 2 hours and worked his ass off making 9 drops.

I managed 6 keepers with pool fish going around 6 pounds. Changing bait helped as I caught on all 4 baits as I would switch things around as the bite died and seemed to put a few extra fish in the box. We ended the long day with 11 keepers for 5 of us. Numbers were not good and no big fish but it was nice to knock the rust off and fish with great Capt and crew of guys. Will be doing a 3 day trip early may so water temps and bite should be much improved by then. Expect to add to the double digit count on one or a few of those days with the hope of getting into the 20 lb club. Till next report

[Capt.Ed]

Nice post Alex.

[shrimpman steve]

Alex was in the city and saw this. Your new career)

[howarda780]

You're amazing.

[Tunarun]

Hi Alex, I thought, I was bad meaning my last tog trip was 2/9/15, a PB for not fishing. I did do 1 cod trip in March but that doesn't count. I have my own calculations for attaining PB's. lol I could have gone to the " Flemish Cap" with the other Capt from down south but passed like must of us screen watchers did.
Personally speaking, I think it's going to break Wide open with another week of warm weather! Not all PB's live in the deep as we know! I forgot to say, nice job on putting fish in the box that helps with the Longggggggg ride back home. Dennis

[Joey Dah Fish]

Great job Alex looking forward to seeing you this season

[MVP]

Alex was in the city and saw this. Your new career)

Yes Steve this is one of my side bussineses. I also own the massage parlor next store the you stopped in for your happy ending. Lady said that you were in and out of their in 2 minutes. :D

Best of luck to you this year.

MVP- Entrepreneur

[MVP]

Hi Alex, I thought, I was bad meaning my last tog trip was 2/9/15, a PB for not fishing. I did do 1 cod trip in March but that doesn't count. I have my own calculations for attaining PB's. lol I could have gone to the " Flemish Cap" with the other Capt from down south but passed like must of us screen watchers did.
Personally speaking, I think it's going to break Wide open with another week of warm weather! Not all PB's live in the deep as we know! I forgot to say, nice job on putting fish in the box that helps with the Longggggggg ride back home. Dennis

Totally agree with you Dennis as with weather and my insane work schedule it was difficult to get out. When you get invited to fish on someones else charter anddoes feel good to contribute to the box then everyone has fish to take home. I feel as long as i can contribute they will continue to invite me back. Saw are friend Monty working hard to continue to build habitat so we can continue to drive down and have shot at catching some nice tog. From Chatter on the radio he was working with guys on barge to deploy a couple of thousand's pounds of concrete. Wish we did more of this kindof stuff in NJ. Look forward to fishing with you this year.

[Tunarun]

Totally agree with you Dennis as with weather and my insane work schedule it was difficult to get out. When you get invited to fish on someones else charter anddoes feel good to contribute to the box then everyone has fish to take home. I feel as long as i can contribute they will continue to invite me back. Saw are friend Monty working hard to continue to build habitat so we can continue to drive down and have shot at catching some nice tog. From Chatter on the radio he was working with guys on barge to deploy a couple of thousand's pounds of concrete. Wish we did more of this kindof stuff in NJ. Look forward to fishing with you this year.

That's a great shot of Monty coordinating the drops, I'll forward that photo of it, compliments of you! I'll let him know it came from you. Always remember, the fish you catch next to me are the ones that I would have caught....maybe lol Dennis

[MVP]

Thanks Dennis as I appreciate you letting me catch a few;)

[Capt. Lou]

Monty a survivor in a tough business , he insures his own success by stepping up whenever he can help.
Where would R winter fishery be w/o SRR ! :cool:

[MVP]

Received invite to fish with Bill - ytuna and his group of all star toggers
(Eric- Mortgageman, Henry - jigemup, Dave - DROD)
to Fish Ocean City, MD on 5/4- 5/6. We had good forecast for all three days so expectations were high.

5/4 Capt. decided to stay in closer rather than making the long run as it seems like fishing has been more consistent for him in shallower water After about a 45 min run lines were in and the anticipation of the Bite was at a fever pitch. Fish started to come over the rail at a nice pace. Henry was using a 1.5oz. banana jig and was putting on a clinic catching them at a fast pace. We were all catching put Henry was catching them at least at double the pace of the rest of us. If you did not believe that jigging for blackfish produces, I can tell you that under the right conditions they can be deadly in the hands of a skilled angler. Ended the day filling the box with some really nice quality 4-7 pound blackfish highlighted by Eric's 9.5 lb. pool winner. As a bye catch we had caught about a dozen nice cod that made it to the box and some nice seabass that were released do to closed season.

5/5 Had some higher winds predicted for day two that would not allow us to make the long run so stayed in sight of land and had another productive day with even more action then the day before as I believe most of us must have had at least double limits + of keepers. Again all nice quality 4-7 pound fish topped off by DROD 10 pounder. Ended the day keeping our 28 blacks and another dozen or so cod. As a group we decided to through back many of the bigger fish as well as each of us releasing many of the female keepers. These fish are currently on the spawn so wanted Momma to have chance to make more babies so we can continue to sustain this great fishery.

5/6 This was the day we were all waiting for as conditions were mint to make the long run to VA. 2 hours later we were anchored near some commercial guy working his pots who told us he speared a nice 23 pounder out of this area recently. If that does not get your juices flowing then there must be something wrong with you. Cod started coming over the rail much more so than blackfish. If we fished clams I am sure the cod catch would have been even better but we were not here for cod and were in search of the ONE. About 35 min. into the trip I get the bite that i have traveled thousands of miles and have spent 10's of thousands of dollars for over the years. I get about 3.5 cranks on him on my Australian loads up and is bent over in the shape of a U. Fish has me in his hole and can not get angle on him to budge him. Put reel in free spool hoping he/she swims out like my last trip i had in April but no such luck. After several a long wait of trying to entice him out fish has other plans and i cry uncle reel down and bust him off. I normally fish longer leader about 16- 18" which when fishing wrecks that have deep drop of puts me at disadvantage with that longer leader rather than the traditional shorter snell or snafu. Wish I could have gotten a few more cranks on this one to truly access what was at the end of the line. Will never no if this was the ONE. If you catch huge tog with 18" 60 pound leader tied to 5/0 owner hooks and a little green glow bead please make sure not to call me.
When fishing slowed Capt. made move to second wreck which had similar action. Towards the end of trip Henry gets bit on his traditional bait rig and lands the highlight of the trip which weighed in at 16 pounds and his PB. Could not have been happier for for him as he truly has put in his time.
We did not limit out on blackfish this day but did go home with more cod. Told the guys on day 1 that if i only caught 1 fish all three days and it was 15+ pounds or better i would consider it a successful trip. At this point i love the action but it is more about the hunt for double digits that keeps me coming back for more.

Always willing to share info to help others improve their catch. Been tog fishing for about 30 years now and still learned a few things on this trip.
1. Jigging for blackfish under the right conditions can be very effective.
2. Experimented on different ways to hook crab which improved my catch.
3. Was getting hits using 8 oz sinker but fish would not commit to bait and give me something to swing at. Dropped down to 5 oz. and had 3 fish in a row.
4. Do not be afraid to cast around to find the bite. Fish will follow your bait as it is settling into zone. Get more bites this way when fishing slows down.
5. A little movement is not a bad thing
6. Do not fall asleep with MVP and DROD around. Bad things can happen.
7. Reason why MD fishing is so good as is there is little pressure on these fish as I saw a total of three boats out in 3 days with 2 of them being commercial guys. Can you imagine being anchored up on the sandy hook reef in the middle of November and not seeing any boats around you.
8. DROD does not even smile when holding up a 10 pound blackfish
9. Should go on the corn hole circuit to help pay for my fishing trips
10. Went through a lot of trouble and expense to bring whiteleggars on this trip. Do not think they made much of a difference this time of year vs. the greens.


Big fish honors go to:
Henry - 16 pounder

Honorable mention:
Drod - 10 pounder
Kane- 10 pounder
Eric - 9.5 pounder

Even though everyone produced and added to the box on all three days my MVP award goes to Henry for his jigging prowess on day one and his 16 pound female that was released to swim another day. Could not have asked for a better group of guys to fish with. Looking forward to the next togging adventure.

MVP

[njfish4life]

MVP-
Great report as always. Henry (actually he is my uncle) can really put on a show fishing for tog. He has been jigging fish for quite a while and really knows how to work those banana jigs. Looking forward to more 2015 reports.

[jlrotary]

Great report Alex!

[shrimpman steve]

Great report!

[jigemup]

Bill thanks for putting the trip together as well as putting together the group of anglers. Would fish with this group anytime. Alex great report and where is my trophy. Thanks.

[kurtisb]

Lessons learned fishing with Kane a couple days later.

1. Alex will never land a big fish on the Australian. Not my opinion, but what I heard from some Marylanders.
2. DRod brings to many rods.


DRod will smile if you remind him that his wife will see the picture.:)

[Joey Dah Fish]

Great report Alex

[hartattack]

Congrats Henry on your PB and its release. Would've been somethng if you hooked it on the trout-rod jigging stick :eek: Great write-up (as always) Alex - your pursuit of the elusive 20-lb'er will soon pay off :)

[jigemup]

Did catch one about 8# on the second day of the trip on the "trout"jigging stick. I must admit that the 16+ would have been a real challenge getting the first few feet of braid back. Would love to get the chance to do it.

[MVP]

Tim, Joe and all the guys from High-Mar. Can not thank you guys enough for putting together such a well run event.

Very grateful to be able to participate and contribute to such a worthy cause
Team Eastwick made the board again for the 3rd straight year
1st place 2013
3rd place 2014
5th place 2015

We squeaked in this year with 40 lb total. I had the first bass of the day at 24 lbs. Nice way to break the ice and get us started. Raul then followed up with a 13 lb. bass. Keeper put not what we were looking for. With are two bass in the first hour we know we had a shot if we could upgrade that second fish. Sounded good in theory but blues had another plan in store for us. As all we could get to bite were the blues. Did not matter what we tried. Fished 2 lines on bottom and 2 on top. Live bunker, Whole chunks, heads butterflied. Did not matter as blues destroyed all our offerings. At around 1130 am we decided to swing for the fences and head to the rocks in search of one decent bass. Fished a few spots with our bunker but had no LOVE. Only 2 others boats in area who were trolling but only had bluefish to show for their efforts. Broke out my custom Australian spoon rods for about half hour hoping they would work their magic on custom made Legacy spoons but bass were not present as water was 52.5 degrees

Knowing we needed one more decent size bass we headed back to our morning spot that produced are two keeper bass. As the tide picked up Raul got his second bass of the day that weighed in at 16 pounds. Not the 20+ we were hoping for but it was an upgrade from the earlier 13 pounder.
After being inundated with blues again we pulled the plug at 310 and worked our way back for 4 pm weigh in hoping that with all the bluefish action that are 2 bass would hold up. Final weigh in takes place and team Eastwick makes the board for the 3rd year in a row.

Can not thank the guys from Hi - Mar and Barh's Landing and sponsors enough for hosting us as they put on very nice spread:
Clam Chowder, Fried Stripe bass chunks, cheesesteaks, onion rings, rice with shrimp and scallops, sautéed mushrooms and onions and peppers. NICE

Congrats to all the winners and everyone who participated
Looking forward to next year already as our 5th place prize is free entry into next years tournament

[MVP]

5/21/15 RI Blackfish/Fluke Combo Trip Report

Received call from Capt. I fish with in the fall for blackfish out of Newport, RI.
He asked me if I was interested in doing a combo trip of Blackfish, fluke and possibly squid. His biggest blackfish of the year are normally caught in May. He knows how to get my attention. Sounded like an interesting trip and with chance for one last chance at catching blackfish so I sent out text to see if I can get a crew together to fish 5/21. Put a great crew together (Capt. Lou, Kurtis, Bob Bates, Mark (AWAD) and myself. Timing a trip like this is difficult as it is towards the end of the blackfish bite which has been very good the last 2 weeks and the beginning of fluke season for them. Squid fishing has been lights out in Hyannis, MA so they usually come in after the Hyannis run. We were coming off the moon on 5/18 so I thought my timing was going to give us a shot to get all 3 species in.

Met everyone at the boat at 5:45 and were off to the grounds at 6 am in cold windy conditions. The nice thing about fishing Newport is that the scenery is amazing and you are normally fishing great bottom in minutes as the run to the fishing grounds is short. Game plan was to limit out on the blackfish in the morning and then focus on the fluke afterwards. Come in have dinner and then head out for squid in the evening. Sounded like a great plan but conditions and migration of fish and squid had different idea. Squid were not in good numbers so Capt. decided to scratch the squid rather than taking us for a boat ride in the evening. SW winds that day may have bought in colder water and must have effected the blackfish bite as we tried early and later in the day and only managed 4 keepers for the 5 of us. Fluking was a little better but still below par as the bite is just starting.

I was disappointment with the results as I have been fishing RI for blackfish for 20 years and have only had 2 slow days in all that time. Not a bad ratio of good to great trips vs slow days but still disappointed as I wanted my guys on my trip to experience the great tog/fluke fishing I am use to. Felt like I let them down even though I know it is out of my control. Capt. moved around from blackfishing to fluking back to blackfishing and finishing with fluke as bite is truly effected by the tide. It was not for lack of effort as Capt. worked to get us on the bite. Total count for the trip was 4 keeper blackfish and 10 keeper fluke for the 5 of us. Can not thank the guys enough as they are seasoned charter fisherman and no you have to have a few slow trips to appreciate the really good ones. Even though Capt. Lou loves to bust my chops all the time my MVP Award went to him for catching the 3 biggest fluke of the trip including pool winner that went around 7 lbs. Will most likely head up to fluke fish in late July targeting bigger fluke in deeper water and then blackfish in late Oct.