Jay's Weekly Fish Report

Jay's No Bull Fishing Report   <

May 5th, 2009

I am now on http://twitter.com/livebunker . I have an idea to keep everybody updated mostly when we get a delivery of bunkers in our marina. Maybe when I get better at it I will give updates. It basically sends text message and or email to all signed up to follow me.

Blues and bass moved into the river this weekend. Guys were casting metal from the river beaches and from rental boats on the north side of the Highlands Bridge up to 5lbs in the river and at the Hook they were much bigger. I pulled in a couple on Kastmasters in front of the barges. Fred Kempf of Oceanport took a few guys up to Rumson and had plenty of action both blues and bass. They were in 3' of water and jigging rubber shads. They had 25 blues and 5 stripped bass. On Friday one of our guys took his new center console out for a spin around The Hook and spotted birds diving on fish. They threw some plugs into the fray and were surprised to land 2 keeper bass. They had to chase the school around a bit but on the good side, they were the only boat.

Upcoming Tourneys:  This weekend http://www.stripedbassderby.com/

                                two weeks        http://www.bahrs.com/asastripbasm.html

April 9, 2009

It has been slim pickins for flounder so far. but we did have a few weigh ins for the tournament.

There were over 75 fisherman registered but I bet only half fished due to windy conditions in the river.

Stripers are begining to hit the dock, most caught in Raritan Bay near Keyport on clams. All you want schoolies but some decent early KEEPERS. We have seen some bunker up the river today.

John Murphy & Bob Hunter Memorial Winter Flounder Tournament

Tournament is an annual tribute to Monmouth County's John Murphy,

local fishing legend, and Bob Hunter, ocean advocate and tournament founder.

Thank you to all tournament participants!

Evelyn Murphy, Robert Madej, Jeff Guilano, Jay Cosgrove of Bahrs Landing

Friend of Jeff Guilano and Chuck Abel - flounder trophy artist

Jim Lee and Jay Cosgrove

2009 Winners:

1st Place Jeff Guilano 2.96

Jeff launch from rumson and had a tough time with the wind but landed the winner in the Navasink east of the Oceanic Bridge

2nd Place Robert Madej 2.59   Caught in the Shrewsbury by Hartshorne Woods

3rd Place Jim Lee 2.10 was fishing on the Sea Tiger party boat out of Atlanatic Highlands

Mark Presto was catching shorts in the rip when he spotted a very dark cloud of birds working out in between the channels. When he got there the birds were on the move so he threw out umbrella rigs. Before he knew it he was into some serious action. Fishing alone he had double double headers up to 33" with some blues mixed in. He jigged some also as they were chasing the rubber shads right to his boat. He was between the 4 and 6 buoy.

Blackfish season is now open since Sunday. Althought the weather has kept most at the dock, the few days that wrer decent for some provided excellent results. Capt. Chris Devereaux went blackfishing on Monday and was excited by the big fish and the non-stop action on the reef he anchored up on. He is hoping that the big fish will continue to bight from now until New Years. The new owner of the K-Kat fishing charter boat and former dock employee of Bahrs Landing is booking trips. 732-567-3289

Jay's No Bull Fishing Report   Oct 31, 2008

Tagged 6 fish at Horshoe Cove from 13-22" then on my wet way in I picked up these keepers at Mike's Werdann's party Island. I was looking for the birds and throwing a green rubber shad.

If you didn't see this yet the Hi-Mar from last weekend rsults....PRESS RELEASE
       HI-MAR FALL STRIPER TOURNAMENT RESULTS

The annual fall Hi-Mar Striped Bass Fishing Tournament had typical Hi-Mar weather, rough seas Friday night, gale warnings Saturday, in which the tournament was postponed until Sunday morning at 3:00 A.M. and resumed with the weigh station being opened at 6:00 A.M. again on Sunday Morning. Sunday was a beautiful clear day with light winds.

The winner was Chuck Many of Annandale on the Tyman. His fish were caught in the East River and released alive. The remainder of the fish placing were caught in a variety of locations.

The Junior Angler was Marc James Hecht Jr., Howell, on Nauti Boy, 20.47 lbs.

The largest fish in the tournament was 28.41 lbs. by Kush Kosensky on Kush III

1^st. Tyman, Chuck Many, Annandale , 24.00 & 23.76 = 47.76 lbs, East River

2^nd. Nauti Boy, Al Dudas, Cliffwood, 20.98 & 23.78 = 44.76 lbs. Arthur Kill

3^rd. Kush III, Kush Kosensky, Manville, 28.41 & 15.45 = 43.86 lbs. Sandy Hook Channel

4^th. Run Off III, Rocco Casso, Roselle Park , 23.74 & 15.81 = 39.60 lbs. Raritan Bay

5^th. Elusive, Zoran Maurina, Middletown , 16.72 & 13.44 = 30.16 lbs. Sandy Hook Rip

Yours in fishing   Bob Kamienski

Capt Rishie reports

Subject: 'JUST ONE MORE' FISHING REPORT, 10/25/08

    Yesterday we had aboard the Jeremy Wisser charter from Pa. What a great day of bassing!! We started out looking for the birds, but could not find any. We could not even find any large concentrations of bait. We went quite a ways down the beach but had no luck. I immediately swung the wheel around hard left and proceeded to the eeling grounds. Before I could rig up the second rod with a live eel, the first angler was yelling he was "ON". We had stripers on every drift and even had on a double which we landed. That is good eeling. We ended up the day with a full limit of striped bass including trophy tags. And we released more. The fish we up to 36" and near 20 lbs. !! We also had some large bluefish. Water temp. is droping and was 53. 3 degrees. Very clean green water.

"

Jay's No Bull Fishing Report   Oct 15, 2008

Weakies have finally moved into the bay last Friday, It is not a slaughter but a nice pick, in the Reach Channels and Terminal Channel. Guys are limiting out on 2-3 lbers.

Bass have been hitting clams and spoons/rigs on Roamer Shoals and down the beach near Highalnds and the Shrewsbury Rocks.

Derek Tietjen with a 17lb caught this nice striper trolling spoons north of the Hook.

Capt Rich on "The Just One More" reports in:"Fishing has been good lately with this fall run. We have been catching stripers, bluefish and even weakfish ! Saturday, Bob Donahue had bass and bluefish casting to the birds. The bass were up to 30" and the blues were mixed in size. There are acres of bait out there and at times you could see the schools of bait right under the boat. The fishfinder was completely red with bait, top to bottom. Birds were everywhere, all up and down the beach. Sunday we had out Ike Inacker and his family for some weakfishing in the afternoon. Every drift produced weakfish and his two daughters had a blast reeling in fish. The weakfish ran from 14" to 21". Not a bad catch for this late in the season. Water temp. is still in the 60's, like 64 degrees. The best bass run has not even started yet. But it will really heat up real soon as the water temp. comes down.


It's great to be back on line and give you fishing reports again. THANKYOU

CAPT. RICH NEWALLIS JR.

'JUST ONE MORE' SPORTFISHING

www.just1morecharters.com

Jay's No Bull Fishing Report   Oct 9, 2008

If you are down about the economy and feel depressed, I have the perfect remedy. Go fishing! Especially now our area hotspots are providing plenty of "Ree" Therapy" (I just saw that as the name of a boat at the gas dock). But now more than ever it is true. This is the best time to enjoy the outdoors in our area. Remember... work is for people who don't know how to fish!!

Captain Fletcher Chayes had a nice catch of keeper bass and 5 albacore down at the Shrewsbury Rocks last Friday. The bluefish were thick and he said that hew had to move close to the beach to get the bass and albys.

Today we had some reports of a Bass Blitz which is going on in Rockaway the last two days.

Marco from The Copper Basket in Basking Ridge, caught these striperrs on Roan=mer Shoals Tuesday morning pulling umbrella rigs.

Burleigh Van Note of Kennet Square Pa., horsed in this keeper from under the Highlands Bridge on Saturday. He was fishing with me on my boat drifting worms on the incoming tide. They bight heavier in the stronger currents. He was using a sinker slide and a 4oz sinker on 20 # test and a 3/0 circle hook.

I have been having fun tagging the smaller bass up the rivers. The Seabright sedges are producing 13-17" bass. I tagged 10 yesterday. Another boat fishing shads had a 27" bass. There are some great holes all around the numerous sedges in btween Rumson//Sea Bright and Monmouth beach and they are LOADED with bass. I was using sand worms.

What tagging tells us about fish
(Note: the term “return” refers to the recapture and reporting of a previously tagged fish)

- The longest striped bass return was “out” 11 years, 8 months, and 13 days; during that time it grew from 13” to 45"
-The longest bluefish return was “out” four years to the day. It was tagged in Massachusetts and recaptured in New York.
- The longest summer flounder return was “out” 8 years and 1 day; it was tagged at 11” and at recapture had grown to 26” (6 ½ lbs)
- The longest winter flounder return was “out” 4 years, 8 months; Tagged in the Middle Bay off Southern Long Island, it was recaptured nearby in Great South Bay

Jay's No Bull Fishing Report   Oct 2, 2008

The more vibrations from the bridge construction ... the better the bass bight! I can't believe how aggressive the bass get under the bridge when the construction crews start driving pilings! Blue fish still causing havoc, especially when using peanut bunkers, up to 14lbs. The bass hitting both peanuts and worms. I CAUGHT A FEW KEEPERS ON WORMS TODAY. Tagged some shorts too.

We saw plenty of keepers on the Oceanic Bridge last night too. The Rip and Roamer Shoals are producing plenty of action on clams and on trolling rigs.

    Ira Kornblutt from Sea Bright trolling rigs in between the channels. Larry Harrington of Rumson caught a 37" 16lbrs on the Sea Bright Bridge Monday night on a White Rubber Shad. He apparently outfished the club boys on the bridge that night. The clear water from the weekend east winds created leader shy syndrome. With 20-25lb flourocarban leader usually you can get some bass.
.

Early Blackfish reports are very very promising. The 1 per man bag limit seems not be an inhibitor to a few who just love to hookem and NOT cook em. Although one 5-7 pounder makes a nice meal. The Hi-Mar Stiper Tournament at the end of the month will be held here at Bahrs Landing this year and not Atlantic Highlands.

Jay's No Bull Fishing Report   Sept 20, 2008

Last day of Summer and now the real fishing begins! Weakies are holding in at the Oceanic and the Channel Club Channel. Worms and and green gulpbait working for the small guys. We had 10 keepers in an hour on the outgoing tide. I had reports of them piled up at the Navoo Marina in the Shrewsbury. I might try there in the morning. Peanut bunkers are starting to move into the rivers bringing the bass and big blues. We have been hammering the 10-12lb fish under the Highlands Bridge while dodging the construction bages cranes and tugs. I don't know how the hard hats can work while we consistantly pull feisty blues over the rail and in the pail!

Today I saw my friend, who will remain nameless, pull in bass after bass under the bridge. Even among the heavy Sunday boat traffic, he and another landed 32 stripers 4 keepers and some blues. They tagged some and kept one keeper. They were using live peanuts and when they ran out switched to worms.

The rip is holding bass too with some reports of big fish in the rip on eels.

Jay's No Bull Fishing Report

August 24, 2008

Big Stipers starting to move into the rivers. Last night I saw a bridge fisherman pull up a big hog onto the Sea Bright Bridge sidewalk! He was using live peanut bunker. I also heard reports of weakfish at the Oceanic Bridge i Rumson, and yes the dolphins are still there.

Jay
I received this report from my friend in Montmouth Beach....

"Here is the pic of the 50” drum we caught on Friday. I don’t know the weight but see my buddy gritting his teeth holding it up.
We also caught a legal bass just south of the highlands bridge
See you around.
Jeff Shaner

DJ NALEPA had a nice catch recenly on LIVE PEANUT BUNKER. The Snake by the Shrewsbury Rocks

Jay's No Bull Fishing Report

July 15, 2008

The rivers and bay is still full of bunkers. Blues and bass are feeding on them nightly. look for weakies to join in soon....we hope!
Some big stripers from down by the Shrewsbury rocks are still being taken on live bunker. We have weighed in some big ones this year.

Ed, Tom, Rock and Todd caught this 186lb mako at the Chicken canyon and had it weighed in at your dock as you can see.

Thanks

Greg Maligrano and friend had a couple of nice days ouyt at the Navy Pier. Nice drift and big killies were the ticket to fluke happiness! Three hours and they had their limit. Went out the next day for more of the same.

Capt Richie on the JUST ONE MORE....

The largest fluke ever landed on the "Just One More" was boated on Friday, the 11th. of July. We had aboard the Shawn Mallery charter. We were fishing in pretty deep water, about 45'. We had plenty of short fluke and some more keepers as well. A lot of the fluke were just under the limit at about a 1/4" to 1/2" below the legal size. Havi Rodreguez had never been salt water fishing before and broke in with some fluke and sea robins. Around 11am, he started reeling in a fish and thought he was stuck on the bottom or the drag was too light. I slighlty tightened the drag and the "bottom" started to move! After a short battle it was netted and I immediately weighed it. The fluke was 10.1 lbs. !! It was the largest ever landed on this "Just One more" or my last boat. We had come close many times but never broke the magical 10 lb. mark. But Havi did it!! It was a beautiful fish that measured 28.5" long!! Congratulations Havi !! Pictures will follow in a later email as I forgot the camera on the boat.

Jay's No Bull Fishing Report

July 8, 2008

The infamous Hogan from Highlands had a day he will remember for a while. A regular in the North Shore Surf and a long time member of the Monmouth Beach Cartoppers (which meets a t Bahrs Landing the 2nd Tuesday of every month) Hoagie pulled this 48lber in the Long Branch surf last week on a pencil popper.

Caught some stripers and a few keeper fluke in the Rip last tuesday morning with the guys from Livingston Shoprite.

Capt K-Kat Reports

7/4 - Red hot striper bite on Independence Day for Tzvi Bar-David and his family from Riverdale, NY. The bass bit as soon as the baits were in the water, we had a limit of 10 in the box in 45 minutes off of Sandy Hook. 6 more were released, as well as a another dozen missed & broken off. All the fish were caught on fresh bunker heads. It seems that now that the supposed spring bass season is behind us and most of our customers have already done their trips, the fishing is becoming more dependable. Other limit or near-limit catches over the past week include Alan Lambert & crew from Spring Lake, the Mike Mackey group from Hoboken, Michael LaSalvia family from Sayreville, and the Andy Veasey family from Rumson.

Capt Rich 'JUST ONE MORE' FISHING REPORT, 7/5/08

Boy did we loose the big one !! And I mean BIG !! Wednesday, we had aboard, Bluefish Bob Donahue, Flounder Bob Abel and his son Tommy. They wanted to go shark fishing. Sooooooooo we left the dock at 5am July 2. Basically went about 30 miles offshore to a spot I like in very clean green water, but not blue. The water temp. was 68.7 degrees. We set up and started drifting .I was constantly watching the floats and nothing was happening. Around 10 am, with no other signs of life, one of the reels started screaming!! And I mean screaming! The shark took a lot of line before I could even get to the rod. We set the hook and the line kept going out against heavy drag. We got Tommy dressed up in a harness and gimble belt and the fight was on! The 50 lb. line was basically straight out and the reel was more than half empty. He fought it for about 10 minutes when it exploded from the water. It was a HUGH MAKO !!! It cleared the water by at least six feet. No one could believe it and we all looked at each other. It was between 8' and 10' long with a hugh, fat belly!!! This was no 6' shark !! Beautiful dark blue back, silver sides, and white underneath. The splash it made when it landed looked like an explosion went off. All of a sudden, the line went slack. I told Tommy to reel !, reel !, reel ! ,as fast as he could. When he caught up to the mako, it was almost under the boat. He fought it straight up and down, with the rod bent in half with about 17lbs. of drag for about 10 more minutes. Then as quickly as it hit, it was gone. The hook just simply pulled. It was definately the largest mako I have personally seen. It was going to get very sporty with a shark that size when it got next to the boat. We also had another shark hit that bit the bait in half one inch below the hook in a perfect semi-circle shape. That would have been the largest fish ever on the "Just One More". They are all hopped up to go again, and so am I !! I still can't believe the size. It would have won any tournament around, or come very close if someone brought in a large threasher. Next time Tommy !!

June 16, 2008

What a Fathers Day for Lou Padula of Rumson. After the rainy weather was over around 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, he showed up at the dock in by himself in his center console looking for live bunker bait and some beef jerky. His comment was that his wife and kids wanted to take him out for dinner, but he had another idea "I'm goin fishin!". The word of big stripers down the beach had been out all week and Lou was going to head down for a look. I contemplated skipping out myself and joining him. My bad. Lou got into a school of bunker off of Deal and had his limit up to 36lbs and back to the dock by sundown.

Big bass have been hitting the docks and the stories are crazy. Fish up to 48lbs on our dock. Reports from wide eyed captains and mates of stripers free jumping breeching on pods of bunkers. An organized attack to stun the quick bunkers and allow them to be gobbled up two and three at a time. One captain told me that one came crahing throught the fray with three bunker tails sticking out of its mouth. He said it was "stupid" six huys on the boat and six hool ups all over 30 lbs! Most of the rports of this action aare from the Shrewsbury Rocks to Spring Lake. Surf fisherman are i on it too.

The last couple of days pourpoise have been spotted in the Shrewsbury. I am hoping for some of the big bass to come in as well. the bait is there thick as ever.

Fluking seems to be heading out into the bay. I have been seeing some nice keepers taken at the TC buoy and along the mussel beds of the reach Channel.

May 15, 2008

Stripers and bluefish are back in numbers and size too. Yesterday all boats out of Bahrs Marina had their limits on striped bass. Both clam bellies and bunker seem to be working equally well. Old Orchard Channel, Roamer Shoals and Shrewsbury Rocks are producing. Seems that the bigger fish are being taken at the Rocks live lining.

Live bunker a for sale in our shop 732-291-9554 call to put your cell on the BUNKER HOTLINE. Don't worry we won't sell your personal info!

Fluke Season starts in 9 days May 24 and there are some early indications that there will be some big flatties to keep like last year. Make sure to know the new regulations. http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/2008/maregsum08_color.pdf

Even cocktail blues are now in the river. My friend took a lunch break and took a ride up the Navesink during the week . Just on the west side of the Oceanic Bridge he threw out a metal lure, let it sink to the bottom and gave it a fast retrieve. There was nothing breaking on the water, no birds around. As he got the metal close to the boat, he could see a pack of blues chasing it. Soon he had a pail full of tasty small blues for dinner. He was back to the dock in less than an hour!

Don't Forget ASA Tournament this Saturday. www.fishasa.com

Check out the video on this website. http://fishgloucester.com/ Capt Dave Carraro a Middletown native who grew up fishing out of Atlantic Highlands and Highlands. Former employee of Bahrs Landing too.

Jay's No Bull Fishing Report

May 8, 2008

Reports from up the Navesink are still coming in. Late night striper fishing is where it is at. Big bass swirling on pods of bunker. Last night oin the Rumson Oceanic Bridge were keepers all over the sidewalk. Last weekend winds forced most guys to pull plugs in the Reach Channel. A few bass were taken but mostly blues.

I just saw some guys cleaning for the dinner table, 6-7lb weakfish on the docks. They said that they picked them up on peanut bunkers just south of the Sandy Hook Rip.

Bluefish action is the word in the bay. 7-10 lbs popping up in places like Roamer Shoals and the reach channel.

The American Striper Association is coming to Bahrs Landing in Sandy Hook, NJ May 17th for the Annual Bahrs Landing Striper Tournament. ASA Prize Money for the Bahrs Landing Tournament is a Guarantee’s of $10,000 for 1st place, based on a 50 boat tournament. The Captain’s Meeting is Friday, May 16th at 7pm at Bahrs Landing. For more information, go to www.fishasa.com . Or call Bahrs Landing at 732-291-9554.

Last week's tourney in Cape May produced just a few big fish over 25lbs and only 1/3rd of the 48 boats entered weeighed in on the one day tourney. The weather and tides probably had something to do with it.

"JUST ONE MORE" FISHING REPORT, 5/4/08

    The striped bass fishing broke wide open on Friday. First on Thursday, we had out the Steve Skesavage charter. They land striped bass to a high of 33" and all the bluefish you could handle. Friday, the fishing really broke open. We had out the Bill Stephens charter from New Century Transportation. After a slow start in hugh swells, we made a move and set up for the outgoing tide. The chum started working and we quickly had on bluefish. Then the stripers started to hit. Nice clean big fish with some throwbacks. We landed a full limit with the largest at 34.5" and 20 lbs. !!

Save time and gas searching for live bunker. Get the Live Bunker Hot Line Text Message. Call 732-291-9554

Jay's No Bull Fishing Report

April 24, 2008

Yes the bass are here and Blues too. As the water warms up they are starting to feed on the massive amounts of candy bar sized bunkers in the rivers and the bay. I have reports of fish being taken up in Red Bank up to 30" Ray Sanborn of Rumson had them at Stavola Point at dawn and dusk. He was using rattle trap plugs. Nice size bluefish are moving up the beaches and into the back bay by leonardo to Keyport and beyond. Capt Rich on the Just One More Reports more of the same... "The bass are here! An open boat trip on Thursday with: Dave, Jim, Jim, John, Bob, and Nick produced stripers to 30". The water temp. was about 51 degrees and probably colder on the bottom. The fishing was a little slow, but with all this nice weather, it will be big numbers of bass again real soon. Friday, we had out the nearly famous, "Flounder Bob Abel" charter. Flounder were landed to 15.5" and it was a beautiful day, except for the skates, they are everywhere. We fished a couple of spots around the Pier and went out to Roamer Shoal Light. The flounder will be stacking up shortly to leave and the fishing will only get better. "

Still bacteria causing bunker fish kill There are quite a few bunkers way up in the reaches of the rivers and the seemed to be diseased. You can see them on the flats either dead and being eat'n by giant seagulls. They also are swimming eradictly in small circles on top of the water. The DEP has identified the bacterial Vibrio oradalii and confirmed that the bunker population has contracted it. There are however plenty of healthy (seemingly) bunker to be had. Bahrs Landing should have plenty available for bait sales this weekend. They say that it does not pose a threat to humans. It has been going on since last fall and I still saw them beached in Oceanport this morning. The seagullsall you can eat bunker buffet is making a mess of the docks up river!

Fishing Around By Capt. Robby Barradale Hello, fellow fisherpeople. The reports I've been getting this week indicate that our spring flounder run has sputtered a bit mainly due to the low water temperatures. Some nicer fish did make it to the scales late last week and numbers were beginning to creep up, but things have slowed since then. This fishery will increase in tempo as the water temperatures continue to rise and the weatherman is predicting a warming trend for the end of the week so I'm anticipating an upswing in the action. I figured now would be a perfect time to go over some basics of floundering and maybe offer you guys some tips that could add a few fish to your bucket. Flounder aren't going to make blistering runs or jerk you out of the boat but they can still be a lot of fun to catch and they taste pretty darn good too!

Let's assume we have picked out our fishing location and have dropped an anchor (actually I'd recommend using two anchors to position yourself so that the boat doesn't swing back and forth!) to hold us stationary on our spot. The first order of business is to stimulate the feeding instincts of the fish and draw them to us, and we accomplish this by chumming. Flounder are a bottom feeding species so our chum should be placed on the bottom, and for this we use a weighted chum pot tethered to our boat. Bouncing the pot by occasionally giving the tether line a vigorous jerk will release minute particles and, more importantly, a scent line will be established. OK, now for the fun part, what do we use for chum? Standard pot fillers are crushed clams or mussels and this usually works out fine, but there are other options if you can't secure enough of this primo chum to get through the day. Supermarket items such as canned dog food, whole kernel canned corn, rice, and even spaghetti can all attract hungry flounders. Boil the rice until soft and if you want an added edge a bit of yellow or red food dye blended in doesn't hurt. Same deal with the spaghetti; only chop it into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces. The rice simulates clam spat, or eggs, and the spaghetti makes a pretty fair copy of the small boring worms scurrying about in muddy bottom areas. I don't have a clue what the corn is supposed to look like to a flounder, I just know that if you toss a scoop overboard here and there you will find it in the bellies of most of the fish you catch. Try it! Years ago my favorite "magic mix" consisted of yellow rice and pink spaghetti hand kneaded with a can of Foodtown dog food, all soaked in clam juice for scent and crammed into the chum pot. Sounds awful, smelled worse than awful, but it did the trick! Suppose a last minute opportunity to go flounder pounding comes up and you can't get any chum at all, should you give up and go home? Nah! Try rigging about three feet of heavy chain or some window sash weights on a length of rope and every few minutes bounce this vigorously on the bottom. It will stir up and dislodge a load of tiny creatures from the mud, such as the clam spat and worms I mentioned before along with a bunch of other creepy crawly organisms, creating a natural line of food for the fish to home in on. Neat, huh?

Moving on to our equipment a light 10-pound outfit is fine for this type of fishing. Whether you choose spinning or bait-casting gear pick a stiff, sensitive graphite rod to transmit the often-subtle nibbles of a flounder sucking down your bait. You have to feel them to hook them! There is a huge assortment of commercially tied rigs on the market and some are good while others simply catch your eye and not the fish, but if you have time it is easy to make your own and you can save a few bucks besides. Start with a small three-way swivel and attach a three-inch dropper loop for your sinker to one ring. To the second ring tie on an 18-inch piece of 15 or 20 pound mono with a hook on the end and add a small loop halfway down the piece. To this loop add a 12-inch piece of mono with another hook attached, then attach your main line to the third ring and you've got it. Hook choices vary widely but keep in mind flounder have small mouths so hook sizes should be on the small side. The old long shanked black Chestertown style in #9 or #7 still works, any baitholder in about a #6 is fine, and my personal favorite is a light wire Mustad streamer fly style in size #6. This hook penetrates quickly and has enough shank for easy removal when a fat flounder swallows it. Our hooks are baited with sandworms, bloodworms, clams, or mussels, and in a pinch earthworms can be substituted. Some folks have reported decent results using the Berkely Gulp Alive four-inch sandworms snipped in half, but I haven't tested this out myself yet so we'll reserve judgment as to the effectiveness of these "fake baits" for now. Sometimes the addition of an added attractor, or teaser, pays off. Normally I like a simple rig but flounder are a curious fish and as long as the teaser isn't too big to scare them they'll check it out.

Yellow beads on the leader look like corn, some of my buddies prefer small red beads, and a few of the "sharpies" are hanging one-inch twister tails in chartreuse or white for muddy bottoms and darker hues like purple or black over sandy stuff on their hooks along with a natural piece of bait. Want another "secret" tip? In a craft store buy a bag of those little cloth puff things (Sorry, I don't know the real name for them!), small round balls of about 1/8 inch diameter, know what I mean? With a few wraps of thread secure one to the head of your hook and seal the ties with a drop of super glue. Just before dropping your rig into the water soak the "puff" with clam or shedder crab essence (juicy stuff that comes in small squeeze bottles) and pin a piece of sea worm on the hook. Deadly combo!

Flounder fishing sometimes requires keeping your baits absolutely still on the bottom to draw hits. Once the water temperatures rise and the fish are more active bouncing the sinker for five seconds and then letting it sit still for 20 or so seconds can increase your catch. The motion catches their eye and your sinker plopping in the mud stirs up your own mini chum line. (Remember the chain or sash weight? Same theory!) Make sure that you have enough weight on your line to maintain contact with the bottom! With the lighter gear a two-ounce sinker is normally sufficient but if the tide is running hard don't be afraid to increase the lead.

Get out and give this a shot, if you don't have your own boat jump on a party boat, it's been a long winter and the captains will welcome your patronage. Or you can call Pete at Atlantic Highlands Bait and Tackle (732-291-4500) and reserve a rental skiff for the day. Either way you get a chance to spend a nice day on the water and maybe load the fridge with seafood dinners. I was going to put in a cool recipe for a succulent flattie meal but I'm running out of space, so to make it simple, fry 'em, bake 'em, broil 'em, or anything else that you'd like to try, the clean white meat lends itself favorably to just about any recipe. You can even slice the fillets very thin and slurp them up raw as sashimi! With fresh flounder fillets you simply can't go wrong! Fishing Reports

Take all of the info from above and put it to use at the 14th Annual John Murphy/Bob Hunter Memorial Flounder Tournament on Saturday, April 5, with Bahrs (91 years and going strong!) the sponsoring weigh-in station. This one features cool door prizes, interesting raffles, kid's games, refreshments, and a 50/50 with the proceeds all benefiting Clean Ocean Action. Register for free at www.cleanoceanaction.org for a chance to win prizes and winners must be present at the 5 p.m. final weigh in. $300 goes to the biggest flattie, $150 for second, and $75 for third, and special prizes will be awarded for any flounders brought in by boys and girls under the age of 12. Flounder regulations this year are 10 fish at 12 inches with the season opening on March 23. Enjoy the Blessing of the Waters with Father Marty and a continental breakfast at 9 a.m. (last year the Danish was my choice!), fish your butt off, and weigh your fish in between 3 and 5 p.m. Simple, right? OK, now here's the gimmick: There is no entry fee! That's right, it's FREE! Well, almost free, it's traditional to buy a cocktail or four at the weigh-in! Ray and Jay Cosgrove at Bahrs usually have clam chowders and seafood chili to warm bellies at the weigh in and they are always great. I always love the oyster stew and I hope it is included once again for this year's festivities! I'm also pretty sure that the Huntington Brewing Company will repeat their sponsorship and provide beer! Even if you don't fish at all that day come on down and enjoy the weigh in activities. For years this tourney has been my method of kicking off our season and as of right now I am not positive I can participate, but if I can fish don't expect me to leave all those tasty flatties for you fellows! My plans for right now are to fish a bit in the morning, check out the start of the weigh-ins at 3 p.m., then go get myself cleaned up for the Bayshore Saltwater Flyrodders Dinner at Salt Creek. I'm the guy in charge of this affair so I have to get there early to set up all the raffle goodies!

The fisheries mis-management agencies have set our fluke limits at 8 fish over 18 inches for 2008, with the season opening on May 24 and ending Sept. 7. These people simply have no clue as to what is really going on concerning the fluke biomass and coming up with reasonable regulations that would allow a sustainable harvest. This is total B.S. as most of us feel there are more fluke in our waters now than at any other time in history and we are simply being over-regulated out of participating in a fair share of this fishery. Are you guys as mad as I am about this? Then do something about it! The Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund is holding a fundraising Dinner/Chinese Auction at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 11 at the Crystal Point Yacht Club in Point Pleasant. This organization's goal is "To safeguard and improve fishing access to summer flounder, for those who enjoy it and to ensure the survival of those who depend on it, through scientific and legislative means". If you agree with this statement PLEASE support these people, they are fighting for YOUR fishing rights! Tickets are $75, the prizes are really nice, and even if you can't attend send a donation. Check it out at www.ssfff.net or info@ssfff.net.

The Fishermen's Conservation Association, firmly established in N.Y., has initiated a N.J. Chapter and I'll be giving you guys more info on this as meeting dates are determined and agendas organized, but for now check out www.joinfca.org for ongoing projects and events. One rapidly approaching is an FCA hosted Caribbean Themed Annual Banquet to be held at Grand Plaza, 23 Nelson Ave., Staten Island on Saturday, April 12, with the $70 (before April 1, or $80 after) tax deductible price including full buffet, 1 year membership in FCA, assorted door prizes, huge raffle, and OPEN BAR ALL EVENING! This is a deal! C'mon, gang, this is your big chance to drag out that wild tropical shirt that your wife won't let you wear in public and maybe even practice your limbo moves while sipping those cool rum drinks with the little umbrellas! You can reserve your spot by sending a check or credit card info to:

Fishermen's Conservation Association C/O Richard Chan, Treasurer, 287 Slater Blvd., Staten Island, N.Y. 10305 or check it out on the above website.

The salt waters are still pretty chilly as I'm writing this but the forecast looks good later in the week so I'm expecting the action on flounder and stripers to pick up drastically. Some good numbers of flounder have been taken already on the party and private boats so they are in the area, we just need them to feed! Best bet for the flounders is still in the rivers, but the migration is due to begin so the bay waters will be producing better catches soon. Conversely, the stripers are actively prowling the bayside shorelines grubbing along the bottom for assorted worms and clams. At this point I have not heard of a single keeper sized striped bass taken along the ocean beaches, but it could happen any time now! There are already tons of bunker in the bay and rivers so it won't be long till the bass redirect their hunting strategies in pursuit of these forage species. When this occurs it will be time to toss artificials at them, including plugs, jigs, and flies, and swim live bunker for those trophy bass. Ling fishing on the snaggy spots out in the ocean should also pick up, and it won't be too long before the mackerel schools come within our range. The voracious bluefish and golden hued weakfish won't be far behind. All in all I'm getting excited about our fishing opportunities for this season! See you here next week; till then, hook 'em up!