Blackfish.. bad luck or bad numbers?

[bulletbob]

Went togging on a sponsor boat yesterday,,[weds].. First stop within 30 seconds I had a quick hit and boated my first keeper of the day.. Thought it was going to be a good day indeed.. Alas for me, it was my ONLY keeper.
Matter of fact my tally for the rest of the trip afterward was 2 shorts and a damn horn dog. Others had 1 or 2 keepers, a few guys had 3, some had none.
Just really slow with not a lot of life on any of the stops the captain elected to fish.. He and his crew worked their hind ends off trying, NO question about it, and I would be glad to sail with them any time..
My last tog trip late last season was very similar. Well respected NS that has been togging in NJ for many decades, going back to the "good old days". Just no hits anywhere on the boat for long periods.. Even when the fish were "biting", you might see a fish come up every 15 minutes or so during the day, with the occasional doggie coming up to keep things exciting.. This has been going on for years.. I am trying to gauge if this is the way blackfishing really is these days ..
Many guys on the head boats tell me, yes this is it, this is the new reality, don't judge it by 25 years ago.. Others tell me yes they do a get a limit now and again, but most days a couple fish is as much as you can expect when togging... Reading the reports on the net from many sources, you would think limits are the norm, and big fish 10 + are an every day thing...

Look I understand some guys don't catch because they can't get the feel, but I never had that problem.. I have been togging for well over 40 years, and feeling tog hits and hooking them was never an issue.. Its just that for several years, there don't seem to be any hits to hook more often than not.. Crabs keep coming back up unmolested... For most of my trips the past 8 or so years, the entire boat experienced the same lack of life...

I was in the bow yesterday, and the slightly better bite was certainly in the stern except on the first drop which is where I caught my one keeper and my 2 shorts.. Never caught another tog after that, and the only hit was the dogfish, and a few bergals the size of my index finger.
Many regulars moved to the stern from the bow, but I didn't feel comfortable pushing my way in.. These guys all knew on another, and they support that boat on a regular basis.. I don't feel I have that right, for some dopey reason.

I am starting to think I might be better off going somewhat further south for blackfish. I think there is more potential bottom thats suited for tog, and yesterday the number of head and charter boats from both NY and NJ in a limited area was staggering.. Part of the day yesterday, we were fishing in an area where there were 4 party boats so close you could hit any of the 4 with an underhand sinker toss... None of those other boats were catching either..

I dunno, either I am picking bad days whenever I go for blackfish, or the numbers of them are way down... I personally have not seen a limit caught in the past 7 or 8 years on any tog boat I have been on, 4 keepers was the most I have personally witnessed, and 3 has been my personal best day in years,, My son who is 31 refuses to drive down with me for any more after several trips with no one catching, and no life around the boat . He said to me last night, "blackfishing is always like that -you should have gone out for stripers".. Probably right..
He and I have gone on some sea bass/ling trips that were kind of slow for us as well, but that was our fault.. Just not dialed in real well that particular day.. I have had trips where we just stunk, but others did fine.. Thing is there was life, it was just not our day.
.. Blackfishing for me seems to simply be nobody home down there. Been that way for a long time now.

Is this really the way all NJ blackfishing is today, or do I simply need to change venues and drive a little further south??

I still see those big piles of tog on the net, and still see great reports from private boaters, so tog aren't extinct yet I guess..

That pile of head boats yesterday on such a small area, really got me thinking maybe there just aren't enough fish within the reach of so many boats... It wasn't even the weekend.

Each and every captain and crew on these trips I have written about were terrific, and worked very hard and I would recommend any of them both sponsor and NS... They worked very hard at finding fish, just seemed as though there wan't much to find.
I am simply questioning the actual number of fish out there in this modern age.
I may just need to pick the right days to drive down, instead of days when the fish are totally turned off... Next trip down will probably be for ling-stripers will be gone, and I am actually afraid to go out for tog again this year... maybe next year. No flaming please.. Just kind of confused more than anything else..bob

[Joey Dah Fish]

As they say some times you're the bug and sometimes you're the windshield. Hang in there brother. I think the moon slowed the bite i was out Tuesday and the fishing was certainly slower. A very different kind of bite. Yet the day before they bit their heads off. You will gettem next time. Not sure what you mean by south . But the buys out of the Highlands, Belmar and PP doing very well. So must have been the day or the bait. Good luck and press on.

[bulletbob]

As they say some times you're the bug and sometimes you're the windshield. Hang in there brother. I think the moon slowed the bite i was out Tuesday and the fishing was certainly slower. A very different kind of bite. Yet the day before they bit their heads off. You will gettem next time. Not sure what you mean by south . But the buys out of the Highlands, Belmar and PP doing very well. So must have been the day or the bait. Good luck and press on.

JDF.. The bait was fine.. Green crabs were nice.. alive and kicking. No stinkers.. Lots of guys tried white leggers, but from the buzz I heard, they went untouched.. This was an AH boat with a great capt and crew, NO doubt... Years past I always fished tog out of Belmar mainly because in those years most AH boats fishing whiting and ling and not tog this time of year.. Always caught tog, but back then very few guys fished for them.. I can remember going out with capt Dom on the Skipper with maybe 15 guys on a saturday or sunday.. My how times have changed...bob

[fishingmortgageman]

I think that you drive a long way to go fishing and should try to maximize the potential to catch fish when you come. I am suggesting that you spend a bit more money and go on a 6 pack charter. Many captains are offering open boat trips. It stands to reason that if a boat stops on a piece that there are a limited number of fish available to catch. Your odds of catching greatly increase when there are five other people fishing rather than 40 other people. I am not saying that the captains of the charter boats are better than the party boats but that you have less competition on a charter boat. Since you only have a chance to get out occasionally you should give it a try and see if it works for you.

[joerosa1]

Don't know the boat you referring to and I don't consider myself a "Tog Novice". Went on a sponsor boat "Deep Down" yestarday and believe I did the worst on the boat getting three nice keeper Togs as well as shorts. The person to my left was a first time togger (experienced fisherwoman) and she pulled in seven nice keepers. She received input and lessons from the first mate which seemed helpful. Of the group of eight people no one left skunked and most caught five plus keepers. Not sure if a smaller boat is able to get you over more selective and productive spots but everyone left with a smile.

[bigchefguy710]

I went opening day missed a lot of fish was fishing a 5/0 hook with bigger pieces of crab... Couldn't get em scaled down to a 3/0 and ended up boxing a couple . Some days it's an all out bite and other days it's frustrating. Good luck

[bulletbob]

I think that you drive a long way to go fishing and should try to maximize the potential to catch fish when you come. I am suggesting that you spend a bit more money and go on a 6 pack charter. Many captains are offering open boat trips. It stands to reason that if a boat stops on a piece that there are a limited number of fish available to catch. Your odds of catching greatly increase when there are five other people fishing rather than 40 other people. I am not saying that the captains of the charter boats are better than the party boats but that you have less competition on a charter boat. Since you only have a chance to get out occasionally you should give it a try and see if it works for you.

I agree with you, and know exactly what you mean.. If a drop has lets say 30 willing,legal size fish on it, and those fish are divided among 6 or 8 guys, its a good stop.. If there are 40 guys on board, it quickly becomes a poor one...
One problem is money.. I can go on a head boat twice for the same amount of money a six pack costs once...
I think next time I will go on a Monday when the boats might only sail with 8 or 10 guys.... Like I stated, I am judging my catches by what I would normally catch when I lived in NJ.. Moved out in 1991... I used to catch more tog off the jetties in Deal back then than I catch on boats these days.. I suppose it could just be a couple decades of picking days with a slow bite, but that doesn't seem logical... I do know tog were not commercially fished to any extent until I hit the age of 40 or so,, Now in my 60's, I see a lot of guys complaining about it.
One of these days I will hit a day with a hot bite.. Maybe some monday when there aren't a million boats out there, all jockeying for position for a limited number of willing fish... Thats why they call it fishing, not catching,,
Hey I am NOT bitching, just trying to start an interesting conversation !,,, btw, happy Thanksgiving to all NJF members... bob

[MVP]

You can not make a determination about how fishing has been by one or two trips. You have to put the time in before you can make a determination on how fishing is. Sort of like clinical studies that pharmaceutical company's do when determine that safety of a medication. Can not say that medication does not work based on results of a few patients. They look at hundreds and thousands of patients. When it comes to fishing I think you need to do at least 6 -12 trips before you can make that call. I made a commitment this year to fish hard this fall and winter in search of double digit blackfish. I can honestly say that it is probably the best Numbers I have had to start the season both in numbers and Quality. In my numbers I only count keepers as shorts do not count in my book


10/12 NY = 14 keepers. Great bite all day
10/18 NJ = 9 keepers. Tough bite
11/5 RI. = 16 keepers. Good bite
11/6. RI = 9 keepers. Ok bite
11/11 NY = 6 keepers. Tough bite
11/21 RI. = 19 keepers Awesome bite
11/22 RI = 11 keepers Ok/Good bite
11/25 NY = 4 keepers Really tough bite
Took my dad out on this trip so was tying and baiting his hooks all day so could not fish as hard as I normally do. Just wanted him to have a good time He tied me for high hook so i was happy he caught a few on a tough bite day.

Total of 8 trips = 92 keepers
When figuring out average I normally toss best trip and worst trip results to give me a more accurate average.
Average= 11.5 keepers per trip
Quality size has been good. Have had a dozen fish over 7 lbs with 3 fish going over 10lbs. The biggest going 12.7 lbs. 2 of the 3 double digits were released. The 12.7 did not make it after trying to revive it as we we were fishing deep water and she didn't make it

If you are fishing party boats it is going to make it harder to put in days of big catches. These Capts do a great job of putting there customers on fish. There is just more baits in the watet and only so many fish to compete to get fish to take your bait. Much harder to build your on life with so many guys on boat. Once you do start building your own life and start catching you are surety going to get mugged. That is OK as it is part of the blackfish game.

Need to constantly make changes based on conditions and how the bite is going. Also fishing to catch fish vs fishing to catch keepers is a different ball game. Need to adjust your presentation when looking to put fish in the box or when looking for a pool fish

Do not get discouraged as it sounds like you have been doing this for along time
How I fished 20-30 years ago is totally different to how if fish now when it comes to tackle, rigs, bait and technique. I fish all winter long and have been blessed to fish with some of the best blackfish Capts and blackfisherman on the east coast. I am a sponge she I am out there. I try to keep myself humble and learn as much as can from anyone by listening or by just observing what is working. I have been Blackfishing for about 30 years now and believe I am just starting to figure out what is working for me, as I have become a much better blackfisherman over the past 2 years. The thing that keeps you coming back and why we all love Blackfishing is figuring out the bite on a given day or even on a given tide of the day. Just when you think you are the man and have it all figured out they will put you in your place and humble you.

[MVP]

A few pics from recent trips

[MVP]

AC

[bulletbob]

mvp, thanks for the reply.. I am basing my post on the one or 2 trips a year I have done in the past 10 or so years, not just yesterday.. you show days in the past month where you had 19 keepers.. I have been on trips where there weren't that many on the entire boat.. You also described a 4 keeper day as a very tough bite.. From my experience in the past 10 years, 4 keepers would be banner day.. That 4 keeper total was the best total I have witnessed by za single fare on a head boat in years.. Caught by a guy alongside me in the bow last dec. He had 4 I had 3, and we split the pool, and for me based on the previous decade or so, it was a banner day.. I think besides those 7 keepers only 3 others were caught on the entire boat with maybe 15 guys aboard.. Most caught none, and never had a single bite. Yesterday at least most fares had a fish or 2... Based on your totals, I am certainly just going on the wrong days.. Its been a VERY long time since I have seen blackfishing as you describe.. I hope thats what I get into next trip!... bob

[MVP]

Sorry for shitty pictures by I am doing it from my phone as my computer died on me so this is best I can do. Once I get new computer I will be posting more with better full size picture

[broken bobber]

HAD an awesome day yesterday boxed up limit in 45 min.... had to have whites or forget it...... boat 40 yds from werent doing a thing

[bulletbob]

HAD an awesome day yesterday boxed up limit in 45 min.... had to have whites or forget it...... boat 40 yds from werent doing a thing

thanks so much for that reply BB.. I feel so much better now..;)

[rumster]

As Broken Bobber mentioned white leggers have been the key as of late, which is surprising because usually they prefer them more when the water temp cools down more than what it presently is. Last 2 times out the boats I have been on limited out. A week and a half ago we reached a 3 man limit in 40 minutes and what would have been 60 keeper tog over the day. The full moon tides can have an effect on the bite at times.

[bulletbob]

As Broken Bobber mentioned white leggers have been the key as of late, which is surprising because usually they prefer them more when the water temp cools down more than what it presently is. Last 2 times out the boats I have been on limited out. A week and a half ago we reached a 3 man limit in 40 minutes and what would have been 60 keeper tog over the day. The full moon tides can have an effect on the bite at times.

The white leggers never drew a hit yesterday.. There were big sacks of them on the boat.. The fish wouldn't touch them. They were ignored by the tog that were caught.

I get the fact that some days the fish want white leggers... This "White leggers rule" thing is pretty recent... Even in the 90's, they were never seen, used or needed.. It was green crabs only on all the party boats, mud crabs we dug up near the bay,hermits if you could find them, and if you were industrious, calicos, and sand bugs were deadly near the jetties where tog were used to seeing them. White leggers??.. Never heard of them until maybe 7-8 years ago...bob

[Dino]

i dont really blackfish but i think if you want to have limits and 10+ fish and hero shots and great reports etc etc, it takes more than just hopping on the local party boat these days

[dakota560]

Bullet,

Lot of good replies to your post. Fishing pressure in the NY / NJ area is insane. We fished Tuesday and Wednesday this week, two guys Tuesday and five guys Wednesday and limited both days. As others have said, whites were the hot ticket although greens caught as well. We were fishing an area where Tuesday we were the only boat and Wednesday there were maybe throughout the morning maybe 6 or 7 boats. One other boat was catching, other boats not so much. All fish were quality 3 - 6 lb fish. Could see Sandy Hook reef from a distance and it looked like the Hudson Canyon at the height of the tuna season. Insane how many boats were anchored up both party, charter and private. Black fishing is one fishery as you know if you've been doing it for as long as you say where 5 feet can mean the difference between a mad dog bite and not getting a hit. I think the best advise you received is to consider an open boat or 6 pack charter if your fishing weekends. A railed party boat fishing a small piece with limited takers won't provide you your best odds at a good catch. Nothing against party boats or party boat captains as we have some of the best in this area but the nature of the fishery is an 80 - 100 foot boat won't be able to position everyone on board over a small piece of structure and a limited amount of fish is better divided among 6 anglers than 60. As far as your comment concerning cost, I'd rather have one successful trip than two disappointing ones. There are a lot of fish around but places are being hit hard. You need to move around and find a spot which wasn't hit hard recently. There are hundreds of spots to fish, don't only fish the ones which are popular and have 100 boats sitting on them during the weekend. Pics from our trip Wednesday....limited for 5 guys in about two hours BUT we fished maybe five drops Tuesday before finding the one which had good quantity and quality amounts of fish on it with little competition from other boats.

[TomKaye]

BullettBob,.. to quote you from above:

"I get the fact that some days the fish want white leggers... This "White leggers rule" thing is pretty recent... Even in the 90's, they were never seen, used or needed.. It was green crabs only on all the party boats, mud crabs we dug up near the bay,hermits if you could find them, and if you were industrious, calicos, and sand bugs were deadly near the jetties where tog were used to seeing them. White leggers??.. Never heard of them until maybe 7-8 years ago...bob "

I'm like you--My first blackfish adventure was in the 70's off a Sea Bright jetty
with sand bugs we dug ourselves. Over the ensuing years I've fished maybe
once a year specifically targeting tog, and have used every bait you mentioned.
Only in the last 3 years ( I'm boatless since Sandy ) as I'm retired, have I tried
white leggers and targeted blacks more often. I have been fishing more often on six-pack boats, and I would say 40% of my trips have sucked, 40% were fair, and 20% were outstanding. Not necessarily for me, but the boat as a whole. I learn something every trip. I am proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Anyway--- I'm going again Sunday the 29th,and I will get six DD tog, all of which I will release. :):)
Hang in there Bob. Optimism never hurts.
Tight lines,
Tom K.

[bulletbob]

BullettBob,.. to quote you from above:

"I get the fact that some days the fish want white leggers... This "White leggers rule" thing is pretty recent... Even in the 90's, they were never seen, used or needed.. It was green crabs only on all the party boats, mud crabs we dug up near the bay,hermits if you could find them, and if you were industrious, calicos, and sand bugs were deadly near the jetties where tog were used to seeing them. White leggers??.. Never heard of them until maybe 7-8 years ago...bob "

I'm like you--My first blackfish adventure was in the 70's off a Sea Bright jetty
with sand bugs we dug ourselves. Over the ensuing years I've fished maybe
once a year specifically targeting tog, and have used every bait you mentioned.
Only in the last 3 years ( I'm boatless since Sandy ) as I'm retired, have I tried
white leggers and targeted blacks more often. I have been fishing more often on six-pack boats, and I would say 40% of my trips have sucked, 40% were fair, and 20% were outstanding. Not necessarily for me, but the boat as a whole. I learn something every trip. I am proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Anyway--- I'm going again Sunday the 29th,and I will get six DD tog, all of which I will release. :):)
Hang in there Bob. Optimism never hurts.
Tight lines,
Tom K.
Tom... Very well thought out reply that struck a chord in me..

It makes me feel better knowing that even on your trips out on a 6 pack boat, you had 40% stinkers .. I suppose that over the past decade or so, I could have just gone out on trips on days when the fishing was just bad for everyone.. As I stated in the post, the entire boat was dead on most of the trips I have been lamenting, not just me.. Lack of skill on my part could certainly play a part, but when no one else is catching or even getting bit, the problem is in either the lack of fish, conditions or bait.. Things out of the anglers control... I will hit the right boat on the right day for tog before long,,, bob

[MVP]

As I follow up to my original post. Private and open boat fishing is totally different animal than party boat fishing as I would not be able to put the consistent #'s I posted if all those trips were on a crowded boat. You do get those days if your put your time in that you dream about put they are farther and few between then when fishing on a six pack. The best time to go fishing is any date you can get out. You can try to cherry pick your days especially when driving long distance but you never know. When I travel more than 3 hours to fish I try to do back to back trips to stack the deck in my favor in putting a good catch together. What is considered a good catch really depends on who you talk to. People use the phrases all the time that I limited out. Just catching keepers does not make it a good day as you have to take the whole experience into consideration on a day on the water. You can have a 6 keeper day and limit out and many would consider that a slow day if putting in a full day of fishing others may think it was a banner or EPIC fishing. It is a matter of perspective
Some of the best blackfisherman that are out there you will never hear a peep out of them. They keep to themselves and rarely will share any knowledge or information with anybody. If you ask them how they did the standard answer seems to be we did OK no details whatsoever.
I have paid my dues and do not mind paying it forward to someone who is passionate about fishing and just wants to get better at it. If I can help in reducing the learning curve then why not help a fellow brother out.
If you are limited on funds and want to get out for a day I will Treat you to a day of fishing. No guarantee that we will have a banner day but I am almost positive that you will go home with some fish in the cooler. Send me a pm and we can see if we can work something out. I am sure we can learn a thing or two from each other that will make us better fisherman
Alex

[italianfisherman]

Bullet,

Lot of good replies to your post. Fishing pressure in the NY / NJ area is insane. We fished Tuesday and Wednesday this week, two guys Tuesday and five guys Wednesday and limited both days. As others have said, whites were the hot ticket although greens caught as well. We were fishing an area where Tuesday we were the only boat and Wednesday there were maybe throughout the morning maybe 6 or 7 boats. One other boat was catching, other boats not so much. All fish were quality 3 - 6 lb fish. Could see Sandy Hook reef from a distance and it looked like the Hudson Canyon at the height of the tuna season. Insane how many boats were anchored up both party, charter and private. Black fishing is one fishery as you know if you've been doing it for as long as you say where 5 feet can mean the difference between a mad dog bite and not getting a hit. I think the best advise you received is to consider an open boat or 6 pack charter if your fishing weekends. A railed party boat fishing a small piece with limited takers won't provide you your best odds at a good catch. Nothing against party boats or party boat captains as we have some of the best in this area but the nature of the fishery is an 80 - 100 foot boat won't be able to position everyone on board over a small piece of structure and a limited amount of fish is better divided among 6 anglers than 60. As far as your comment concerning cost, I'd rather have one successful trip than two disappointing ones. There are a lot of fish around but places are being hit hard. You need to move around and find a spot which wasn't hit hard recently. There are hundreds of spots to fish, don't only fish the ones which are popular and have 100 boats sitting on them during the weekend. Pics from our trip Wednesday....limited for 5 guys in about two hours BUT we fished maybe five drops Tuesday before finding the one which had good quantity and quality amounts of fish on it with little competition from other boats.

Agree, 6 packs for blackfishing is the only way to go.

[NJtuna]

Great offer MVP! Very nice of you. Another benefit of fishing on private or 6 packs is they can get on much smaller, less pounded spots. A party boat has to get on pieces large enough to try and have all customers over structure. These spots are pounded daily. A private boat can get on small pieces that may not have been fished often. They also should have small spots saved over the years that 90% of the boats don't have. I suggest taking up MVP on that generous offer first, then starting a monthly Tog'n fund to save up for the next season. Throw $20. a month in a can so when Nov. comes you can jump on two open boat charters and not worry about dishing out all that scrap in one month. Good Luck

[bulletbob]

As I follow up to my original post. Private and open boat fishing is totally different animal than party boat fishing as I would not be able to put the consistent #'s I posted if all those trips were on a crowded boat. You do get those days if your put your time in that you dream about put they are farther and few between then when fishing on a six pack. The best time to go fishing is any date you can get out. You can try to cherry pick your days especially when driving long distance but you never know. When I travel more than 3 hours to fish I try to do back to back trips to stack the deck in my favor in putting a good catch together. What is considered a good catch really depends on who you talk to. People use the phrases all the time that I limited out. Just catching keepers does not make it a good day as you have to take the whole experience into consideration on a day on the water. You can have a 6 keeper day and limit out and many would consider that a slow day if putting in a full day of fishing others may think it was a banner or EPIC fishing. It is a matter of perspective
Some of the best blackfisherman that are out there you will never hear a peep out of them. They keep to themselves and rarely will share any knowledge or information with anybody. If you ask them how they did the standard answer seems to be we did OK no details whatsoever.
I have paid my dues and do not mind paying it forward to someone who is passionate about fishing and just wants to get better at it. If I can help in reducing the learning curve then why not help a fellow brother out.
If you are limited on funds and want to get out for a day I will Treat you to a day of fishing. No guarantee that we will have a banner day but I am almost positive that you will go home with some fish in the cooler. Send me a pm and we can see if we can work something out. I am sure we can learn a thing or two from each other that will make us better fisherman
Alex


x[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the offer MVP.. No need really, but its certainly appreciated.. Please remember, at the age of 61 I am an old time tog fisherman, and have always caught blackfish since I was a teenager without problems.. Won pools a few times as well, including my only time out for them last year.. Its not a matter of knowing how really. Usually if there are fish around I can hook up. Some will catch more and bigger NO doubt , but I typically hold my own.. Last year on my only trip for tog, I caught 3 and shared the pool with the high hook guy that had 4... I think that after that 7 fish there were only 3 other keepers on the entire boat.. Almost everyone on the boat caught none, and never had a single hit.. Thats when the thoughts for this post started coming together. After many trips like that in a row over the years, I started thinking maybe the tog were simply decimated.. Then this last trip the other day really got me thinking.. Is THIS the new normal for blackfish on a party boat??

Probably not.. I see the pictures here on NJF every day. Captains report shows limits of nice tog piled up in the stern on the bait cutting/filleting board.. pic after pic, not just one or two.. So I know that at least on some days, the tog or down there and willing to hit, even on a head boat.. I am beginning to think the time to come down is on a cold Monday in Dec when the boats sail with 10 guys or less.

This past summer I went on a 6 pack for sea bass and ling with a friend from up here.. We came home with 13 sea bass and 3 ling for an entire days fishing. Some got more, some less. Fish were super picky that day, no "Hot bite" anywhere.. Captain told us the previous day that it was all limits all around.. Point is, I see a pattern here.. I get down to NJ salt water when I can, MAYBE 3-4 times a year.. Best I can say is that for a while, many of my trips seem to be of the "shoulda been here yesterday" variety... We'll keep at it.. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.... We'll hit the right day before long.. bob

[Tunarun]

That's a very very Generous gesture Alex, I applaud you. I'm one of those guys who are in the background and I think, I've never read a gesture like that. I think that elusive tog of 20 lbs will be rewarded to you, when, I can't predict that but it will Happen!! Dennis

[Rightaway III]

Bob, we would have made a spot for you had I known you were in town. Bill Sasse and his brother-in-law fished with us today....It would have been a hoot if we timed it right and the three of us were in the same place at the same time. We've been blessed with luck in addition to skill and have been putting solid numbers in the box. I had a great day with green crabs today. It basically boils down to the old adage.....you want to catch more fish? Fish more often. I feel bad for you that you can't do that in your current situation, but who knows what the future might bring. Hang in there Bro, you'll always have a spot on my boat. Ed

[Detour66]

I went out on a SPB on Friday out of AH and the boat was packed ...all of the PB's where railed! Fished all day and got 2 legit bites and caught one blackfish. I would say 6 fish where caught on the boat all day. The SHR was wall to wall. Boats everywhere. There was a time when the SHR was considered "a run" and now everyone goes there. The place gets hammered! I think the conditions between the lack of wind and full moon screwed up the blackfishing but what do I know. There are always sharpies that get fish no matter what. Right now Stripers and Blackfish are the only shows in town, plus we are in a very congested area with to much fishing pressure. So hang in there. Pick your days and hopefully you will catch some fish.

[MVP]

Bob
As mentioned previously it is a numbers game. I have had 7 out of 8 trips that have been good this year with pool fish on all 8 of them. Yesterday I was on the Monger. We had no anchoring conditions at all. There is a reason Jerry is one of the best as he put us on a few fish short of a boat limit for 10 of us no thanks to me as I had 3 fish early and only managed 1 more keeper the rest of the day
Tried everything in my Arsenal but nothing seemed to work for me even though some guys around me put together very respectable catches throughout the day. As I mentioned earlier just when you think you are the man you get humbled by these toothy critters. Yesterday it was my turn to be the windshield. Just part of the addiction that keeps you coming back. You have received some very good advice that you should consider to help improve your catch. At 61 you are still a spring Chicken. I took my Dad out last week on a picky day and he still managed 4 keepers even though he does many things that most would say is incorrect.

[Gerry Zagorski]

That's what I love about blackfishing ...... A lot of times it's not the arrow but the Indian and things change every day. Very easy to go from hero to zero and sometimes in the same day.

Been out fishing several times and see a guy fishing a broom stick with an old beat up Penn Squidder with 30 pound mono put on a show while the guy with the $500 set up is shaking his head.

You ask 10 guys about what rod and reel to use and you'll get 10 different answers.

Legs off, legs on, shell on or shell off.

Hit em fast or let em chew.

Lots of variables to figure out every day and that's what keeps you coming back for more.

[bulletbob]

I went out on a SPB on Friday out of AH and the boat was packed ...all of the PB's where railed! Fished all day and got 2 legit bites and caught one blackfish. I would say 6 fish where caught on the boat all day. The SHR was wall to wall. Boats everywhere. There was a time when the SHR was considered "a run" and now everyone goes there. The place gets hammered! I think the conditions between the lack of wind and full moon screwed up the blackfishing but what do I know. There are always sharpies that get fish no matter what. Right now Stripers and Blackfish are the only shows in town, plus we are in a very congested area with to much fishing pressure. So hang in there. Pick your days and hopefully you will catch some fish.

Thanks for this.. It somehow encourages me.. I can see a lot of my bitch fest is really just about being on the right boat at the right time.. I too have had poor luck under the conditions you describe... I will always fish for tog because I enjoy it.. I just think I need to pick my trips more carefully.. The SHR gets absolutely hammered no doubt.. Thats why I stated I may just take the little longer drive down to belmar... Some good boats there.. I typically fish out of S boats from Belmar to PP, but AH is closer and saves me close to an hour each trip total.. Maybe 45-50 minutes some days, but it is still substantial.. Actually I had a better trip than you did LOL.. I got 3 legit hits on my trip and boated all 3 so I guess I was on fire!
Might try again this week,,, we'll see.. No more weekends and no more "holiday eves".. I will go when most other guys can't.. Thats worked better for me... bob

[Joey Dah Fish]

Thanks for this.. It somehow encourages me.. I can see a lot of my bitch fest is really just about being on the right boat at the right time.. I too have had poor luck under the conditions you describe... I will always fish for tog because I enjoy it.. I just think I need to pick my trips more carefully.. The SHR gets absolutely hammered no doubt.. Thats why I stated I may just take the little longer drive down to belmar... Some good boats there.. I typically fish out of S boats from Belmar to PP, but AH is closer and saves me close to an hour each trip total.. Maybe 45-50 minutes some days, but it is still substantial.. Actually I had a better trip than you did LOL.. I got 3 legit hits on my trip and boated all 3 so I guess I was on fire!
Might try again this week,,, we'll see.. No more weekends and no more "holiday eves".. I will go when most other guys can't.. Thats worked better for me... bob

Good for you Bob!!!! I know it's tough being so far away. Just a tad bit of advice. Try to tract the winds if you can put yourself in the middle of a westerly wind of a few days I think that will also help. But like I always say. Fish when you can!!!! Good luck and catchem up!!!!! Bring white legger out on the boat with you. We are all rooting for you!!!!

[bulletbob]

Good for you Bob!!!! I know it's tough being so far away. Just a tad bit of advice. Try to tract the winds if you can put yourself in the middle of a westerly wind of a few days I think that will also help. But like I always say. Fish when you can!!!! Good luck and catchem up!!!!! Bring white legger out on the boat with you. We are all rooting for you!!!!

JDF..After June of 2016 I am retired, or close to it, maybe work a day or two a week. That will allow me to pick times and places so much better.. I have a brother in Lyndhurst that I can stay at, and being able to fish when I want to instead of when I can will make a big difference.. I have an 18 foot Starcraft boat w a 100 hp, and 6 hp kicker, nice Garmin color FF etc. When I see 2 or 3 days of west winds and 2-3 ft seas, I probably won't need to hit a head boat.. I used to find tog on my own off of Deal/Elberon. Lots of them.
Right now I can only fish in NJ when I can juggle work, time, distance, and often when I do get out its a dead slow day on the boat I sail on.. Not always, but too often. I just can't "follow up" a bad day with a good one. "Tomorrows another day" doesn't apply in my case, "Tomorrow" might be 4 months down the road...

Well stick with it.. I have a lot of FW fishing up here, but its just not what I like. Always liked SW better, but the distance has really proven a major issue.

We'll go when we can for now, hopeful that next year allows me the time to start taking my own boat out at least a few times a year. ... bob

[bulletbob]

Bob, we would have made a spot for you had I known you were in town. Bill Sasse and his brother-in-law fished with us today....It would have been a hoot if we timed it right and the three of us were in the same place at the same time. We've been blessed with luck in addition to skill and have been putting solid numbers in the box. I had a great day with green crabs today. It basically boils down to the old adage.....you want to catch more fish? Fish more often. I feel bad for you that you can't do that in your current situation, but who knows what the future might bring. Hang in there Bro, you'll always have a spot on my boat. Ed

Eddie ,can't wait to check your operation out... The members here at NJF have no idea we were rock stars together for several years during the heyday of the NJ club circuit back in the late 70's-early 80's... I hope to be fishing with you before long laughing and talking about our mis spent youth and the wild depravity of our rock star days in NJ.. Man, that was a LONG time ago, and we are both old men now..... I can still scare the young kids down at Guitar Center though.. They put down their guitars and watch the balding old man thats making them look bad,,, lol... I really look forward to fishing on the Rightaway III... bob

[rumster]

The white leggers never drew a hit yesterday.. There were big sacks of them on the boat.. The fish wouldn't touch them. They were ignored by the tog that were caught.

I get the fact that some days the fish want white leggers... This "White leggers rule" thing is pretty recent... Even in the 90's, they were never seen, used or needed.. It was green crabs only on all the party boats, mud crabs we dug up near the bay,hermits if you could find them, and if you were industrious, calicos, and sand bugs were deadly near the jetties where tog were used to seeing them. White leggers??.. Never heard of them until maybe 7-8 years ago...bob

Caught 66 keepers to 11lbs. in 3 hours between 3 guys on Friday. Only keeping our allowed limit. All the of the fish were caught on white leggers in 35 feet of water. As for not hearing about them before 7-8 years ago, I am really not sure how long you have been fishing, but they have been a go to bait later in the season for quite a while. Private boats or smaller charters make a big difference and it`s not because some of the larger boats don`t work their asses off. Unfortunately as previously posted it`s a numbers game and the smaller boats are able to hit smaller pieces that do not receive as much pressure.

[Rightaway III]

Bob, If ya want to do it this year, don't wait too long.....Capt Tommy and myself usually call it a season shortly after our first episode of 'Ice Capades on Deck'. Talk to you soon, Capt Ed
P.S. I'm still rockin' when Happy Hour gigs pop up. Glad to hear that you're still making sweet noise too!

[bulletbob]

Caught 66 keepers to 11lbs. in 3 hours between 3 guys on Friday. Only keeping our allowed limit. All the of the fish were caught on white leggers in 35 feet of water. As for not hearing about them before 7-8 years ago, I am really not sure how long you have been fishing, but they have been a go to bait later in the season for quite a while. Private boats or smaller charters make a big difference and it`s not because some of the larger boats don`t work their asses off. Unfortunately as previously posted it`s a numbers game and the smaller boats are able to hit smaller pieces that do not receive as much pressure.

I have been fishing for blackfish well over 40 years, actually closer to 45 years now,,, They were never used right up until 1991 when I moved out of NJ... Never saw one white crab on any blackfish boat anywhere... Green crabs were it on head boats with some tog caught on clams or conch which were sometimes supplied... Also Nov and Dec was ling/whiting/cod time in those years. Blackfish were never targeted all winter.. No one wanted them.
"Quite a while" can mean 2 years or 20... I stand by the fact that they were never used years ago, and the tog didn't seem to mind, but then again, most guys weren't fishing for tog in Dec years ago when the whiting and ling were 200 yards off the beach a quarter mile from the inlet.... bob

[rumster]

Bob, Really splitting hairs here. Never used, is a strong statement Lets say 15 years, it really doesn't matter. Just looking to help with what has been working very well for myself and the guys that I fish with. I am fortunate enough to be out there a couple days a week when the weather cooperates. Tight lines.

[bulletbob]

Bob, Really splitting hairs here. Never used, is a strong statement Lets say 15 years, it really doesn't matter. Just looking to help with what has been working very well for myself and the guys that I fish with. I am fortunate enough to be out there a couple days a week when the weather cooperates. Tight lines.

Fair enough.. Lets just say that from my recollection, which sadly becomes less focused each year, I never saw anything but greens supplied, other than conch or a few clams.. I have used calicos ,sand bugs,asians, etc, but they were caught by me used on my own boat, not on head boats.

Blackfish "season" years ago was usually done by Dec, and actually started in sept.. We weren/t really aware of late season " hot baits".. At least I wasn't. Times have changed a lot... Tog weren't really targeted much during the winter months as they are today.. bob

[rumster]

Fair enough.. Lets just say that from my recollection, which sadly becomes less focused each year, I never saw anything but greens supplied, other than conch or a few clams.. I have used calicos ,sand bugs,asians, etc, but they were caught by me used on my own boat, not on head boats.

Blackfish "season" years ago was usually done by Dec, and actually started in sept.. We weren/t really aware of late season " hot baits".. At least I wasn't. Times have changed a lot... Tog weren't really targeted much during the winter months as they are today.. bob
LoL. Becoming less focused as we get older is unfortunately a part of the aging process, which at times is not graceful. Good Luck and catch em up!

[Detour66]

Thanks for this.. It somehow encourages me.. I can see a lot of my bitch fest is really just about being on the right boat at the right time.. I too have had poor luck under the conditions you describe... I will always fish for tog because I enjoy it.. I just think I need to pick my trips more carefully.. The SHR gets absolutely hammered no doubt.. Thats why I stated I may just take the little longer drive down to belmar... Some good boats there.. I typically fish out of S boats from Belmar to PP, but AH is closer and saves me close to an hour each trip total.. Maybe 45-50 minutes some days, but it is still substantial.. Actually I had a better trip than you did LOL.. I got 3 legit hits on my trip and boated all 3 so I guess I was on fire!
Might try again this week,,, we'll see.. No more weekends and no more "holiday eves".. I will go when most other guys can't.. Thats worked better for me... bob Glad to hear my words encouraged you Bob. I have had many GREAT fishing trips over the last few years but now and then I go just for the sake of going knowing it will not be a great day of fishing because of many reasons but even now and then I catch on them "not so great days". It's fishing.... enjoy the sport...the friendships .... the fresh air, sun and ocean and even a few great days when we hammer them! Tight Lines !!