off shore sat & sun - NJFishing.com Your Best Online Source for Fishing Information in New Jersey

bunker dunker · #1 09-12-2016, 10:30 AM

left the dock at 7am saturday headed for the canyons.got to the first set of
pots around noon and started catching mahi right away.i had a 6oz hammered jig i was throwing hoping on something a little bigger.i was fishing port side as all the other peeps were on the starboard side.first couple of pots i boated 4
mahi and had a few come off as i was swinging them.on the 4th pot i flip the jig and let it sink a bit.start jigging it and get hammered.rod loads up line is coming off the reel.after a very short battle the fish spits the jig.i reel the jig up to find the
leader all chaffed up.it was chaffed up 4ft above the jig so we guessed probably
some kind of bill fish.we move up to a new set of pots,change the leader out and flip the jig again.this time as the jig is sinking something grabs it.i lock the reel in
and set the hook.i come tight for about 5 seconds and nothing.reel the jig up to
find the leader shredded and the 67 has teeth marks in it.i could not believe by the looks of the leader that i even got the jig back.now i am 0 for 2 and can see were i am headed.i jig a few more mahi and we head to the tuna grounds around 5pm.capt and anchor us up and i start jigging again.nothing for the first few hours then i hear 'fish on" then i hear it again.then there is like 4 fish on steady for the next hour.all skippies and yellowfin.i am getting smacked but not connecting.i reel in and check everything but all is fine.i flip out again and start jigging get hit set the hook and its game on.at first i thought tuna then the fish started to fight a little different.15 minutes later i get this 7ft shark up to the lights.can you belive it,i could not hook any thing but
i could jig a shark.thank the good Lord the jig pulled right at the top of the water.the bite died down around 10-10:30pm. i am still jigging away when i here "fish on" again.i see the guy fighting the fish and this thing is dragging him all over the place.this gose on for about 10 minutes then i see one of the mates fighting the fish.this fish has him around the boat up and over the bow spread 2x and this thing is still pulling.30 minutes gose by and now the other mate has the rod and the ring around the boat continues. the whole boat is wide awake watching this fight.finally after a 55 minute battle the mates pull
this giant swordfish thru the stern door.i think is was 72 inches from the fork to its bottom jaw.what a fish.the peep that hooked it kept half the fish and gave all the other peeps a few steaks to take home.i think we ended with 12-16 tuna,a bunch of skippies, 1 sword fish and a load of mahi.all and all
a good trip.going to head out again on friday.