Daily Reports From The Deck

Sean, Diane, and Mike Butler, South River, NJ, combined to keep 20 Fluke today. Diane had her limit by noon.

Allen Poole, Bridgewater, NJ, also had his limit today. It took Allen an hour and a half to limit out after catching his first keeper.

Posted by lourusso3 at 09:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Shaped up this morning, and was not too confident about how the day was going to turn out because of a light northeast breeze that was going to go up against an outgoing tide for the entire trip. With that in mind, we headed to the western most end of the bay in hopes that the current coming out of the Raritan River would be strong enough to push us along. We did read quite a bit of bait life in this area yesterday, and although fishing was tough, the people that were jigging did snag a good number of fish. This shows that there are alot of fish in the area, but they are not feeding. Anyway, we set up on the first drift, and began to pick fish immediately. We hardly drifted at all. A good number of fish were caught, and just about everything that came over the rail was a keeper. Alot of nice sized fish, with many of them in the 3 to 4 pound range. Diane Butler, South River, NJ, caught 7 keeper Fluke on the first drift, and ended the day with her limit. It was very good fishing for most of the day. We ended up with around 110 keeper Fluke on the boat. Allen Poole, Bridgewater, NJ, also had his limit today, and Pastor Daniels, Jersey City, NJ, won today's pool with a 5 pound Fluke.

Posted by lourusso3 at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Very slow day today. Worked the western end of the bay. Read alot of bait life, and we did catch some fish without a real good drift. Conditions were an issue again today. Had to fish near the Raritan River in hopes of getting some current coming out of it. We did see some fish at the end  of the outgoing tide, but overall it was a pretty poor day of fishing.

Posted by lourusso3 at 08:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Joey Bottles, Aberdeen, NJ, holding a 9 pound fluke that he caught with lightning all around him, and hail pelting him in the face.

   We were shot in the foot right off the bat this morning. Had horrible conditions with the wind blowing southeast, and an outgoing tide. Headed to the western end of the Reach where we had our best fishing yesterday, but we didn't drifted at all. The wind was pushing us slightly harder than the current was. This makes for difficult fluke fishing because fluke face into the current, and when the wind pushes the boat in the opposite direction of the tide, the bait passes them tail first which isn't what you really want. After a couple of long drifts with little action, we headed southwest toward the very back of the bay in hopes of the current coming out of the Raritan River pushing us enough to cover some ground. Had one drift with a few flurries of keepers, but not enough to keep us there. Went to the Keansburg Buoy around noon, and made a few drifts before the storms came through. We did start to pick some fish for the last twenty minutes before the weather turned. Joey Bottles, Aberdeen, NJ, caught a 9 pound Fluke on a jig, just minutes before the storms hit. Today was a disappointment overall after the great fishing we had yesterday, and that was directly attributed to the conditions, but it wasn't all bad. We did have the big fish, and Paul Amadio, Aberdeen, NJ, was high hook with 6 keepers. (In case you didn't notice, people from Aberdeen, New Jersey can fish!!!)

Posted by lourusso3 at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saturday's big guns!!!!

   Well, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by today. Not only did we not get rained on like the weatherman said, but today was the best day of Fluke fishing yet this summer. Things started slow for the first couple of drifts, but we made a little shift to the western end of the Reach Channel, and the Fluke were ready to eat. We had very good conditions with an outgoing tide, and very good fishing from around 9:30 till the end of the day. The keeper ratio was way up, and we ended the day with 9 limit catches. We caught just over 160 Fluke for 27 people. It is a shame that the weather guy got today wrong (surprise!!!) because I know alot of people stayed home being fearful of getting stormed on all day. Today's pool winner was Randy Vena with a 5 pound Fluke. Randy also had 7 keepers for the day. Today's limit catches were, Keven Meskill, Don Cutrupi, Tim Dickerson, Byung C. Dokko, Mike Melillo, Pedro, Tim Steeger, William Deans, and Reggie Collier.

Posted by lourusso3 at 07:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Fishing was slow again today. Picked a few at the end of the day, but not much happing yet to really report. Fished all along the Reach Channel. Made a drift off Keansburg, and the tip of the Hook. Even tried Chapel Hill Channel, but the Fluke are just not ready to bite. I wrote a week or two ago how fluke fishing does shut down during certain parts of the month of July. That is what's happening this week. We just have to wait it out, and one of these days things are going to open up. Today's pool winner was Jim Handy with a 4 pound Fluke.

Posted by lourusso3 at 03:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

  Tough day today. Started the morning in the western end of the bay. Had ok conditions with the outgoing tide, and a very light west breeze, but nothing bit. Tried the Reach Channel, and off Keansburg, but nothing much to report. Headed to Sandy Hook Channel for the start of incoming tide, but that was no good either. Bounced around a few different spots to no avail. Just a bad day of fishing all around.

Posted by lourusso3 at 03:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Slow fishing again today. Fished all along the Reach Channel. We had pretty good conditions, but nothing wanted to bite.

Posted by lourusso3 at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

    I have had a few people ask me about what we will be fishing for once the Fluke fishery is shut down on September 10th. As of now we are planning on fishing for Porgies on Wednesday's and Saturday's, and Weakfishing all other day's. The Porgy trips will be from 7:30am till 4:00pm. Weakfish trips will be from 7:30 - 2:30.

Posted by lourusso3 at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Tough day of fishing after all the rain we had yesterday. The water temperature dropped a few from 73 to 69 degrees, and the back of the bay, where we have had our best fishing over the weekend, was very murky from all the runoff coming out of the river. Our first drift of the day was the best. We had 13 keepers on it, but after that, not much was caught for the rest of the day. Fished alot of different places from the western end of the bay, to the ocean. We had perfect conditions for drifting, but the fish didn't want to eat. high hook was 4 keepers, and the pool winner was a 3 pound Fluke.

Posted by lourusso3 at 03:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

    We didn't make it out today.

Posted by lourusso3 at 03:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Husband and wife tag team champions, Juan and Lisa Ortiz, holding 2 of their 15 keeper Fluke caught today. Juan won today's pool with a 5 pound fish.

   Started the morning in the far western corner of the bay. We had a very good day here yesterday, but today it didn't work. We had perfect conditions with an incoming tide, and a light easterly breeze, but could not get the fish to bite. After a few drifts, we headed to the Reach Channel. We found some fish along the edge on both sides. Had some very good moments, and then we would wait for a while, and get another good shot of fish. Ended the day with 2 limit catches, and quite a few others with 5 and 6 fish. Juan "The Assassin" Ortiz won today's pool with a 5 pound Fluke, and had 6 other keepers to go along with it, and Paul Amadio, Aberdeen, NJ, was high hook with his limit.

Posted by lourusso3 at 01:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Greg W. Harms won today's pool with this 5 1/2 pound Fluke.

Posted by lourusso3 at 04:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gary and Jeffery Crane holding a 5 1/2 pound Fluke from their catch.

   Excellent fishing today. Spent most of the day in the western part of the bay. Made a few long drifts with the incoming tide, and had some very good moments. Majority of the fish we caught were keepers. We had two limit catches, and a few people close to their limit as well. Ended the day with around 120 keepers for the boat. Today's pool winner was Greg W. Harms, with a 5 1/2 pound Fluke.

Posted by lourusso3 at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Well, it blew south last night arouns 25 knots, and that had a direct affect on today's fishing. We tried every end of the bay, and couldn't get anything going. Horrible day all around. Looking forward to tomorrow!!!!

Posted by lourusso3 at 04:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pete Hahn, Somerset, NJ, holding his pool winning Fluke.

   Started the morning where we had the best fishing yesterday. Of course we had no current, and no breeze to push at all. We slowly picked a few fish along the channel. Around 10:30 a light easterly breeze came up, and it was enough to push us with the tide. We had a decent pick of Fluke for the remainder of the day. High hook was 6 fish, and today's pool winner was Pete Hahn, Somerset, NJ, with a 6 pound Fluke.

Posted by lourusso3 at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   The fishing improved again today along the western end of the Reach Channel. Had very good fishing to start the day. Lost the current around 11:30, but a wind shift to the east helped out just enough to push us along the egde of the channel. Had excellent fishing from noon till 2:00. We had one person with their limit, and a couple more people with 7. Barbara Trematerra, Dan Dishey, Jim Wargo, and Gary Schroeder, all from Rahway, NJ, combined to keep 23 Fluke, and Gary won today's pool with a 4 pound fish.

  There has been a improvement in the fishing each day since Sunday, with today being the best day in over a week. This is a good sign of things to come. Fluke usually don't bite at different times during the month of July. We see it every year, and most of you who fish regularly are aware of it. Hopefully, with only 54 days left in the Fluke season, we have seen the worst of it, and we can get back to the business of putting some fish in your buckets, and coolers.

Posted by lourusso3 at 02:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   The fishing took another step in the right direction today. It was a little better than yesterday, and miles better than the weekend slump. We worked the western side of the Reach to start the morning. Had a nice first drift, and picked some keepers, and shorts. The fishing slowed for a while after a few inbound, and outbound ships came through, but it picked up again after an hour of so. Worked our way east along the channel, and had some shots of fish. Still it wasn't super fishing, but it was alot better than what we have seen the last 4 or 5 days. Today's high hook was Bob Doichler, Union Beach, NJ, with 6 keepers, and the pool was a 6 pound fish.

Posted by lourusso3 at 09:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

   Slight improvement in the fishing today. Started the morning way in the back of the bay. There was a light northeast breeze along with an incoming tide. We did pick some fish on the first drift. After we started to lose the current, we headed east toward the Reach Channel. Made a few drifts working our way east, but couldn't get more than a pick of fish going. Late in the day we had some OK fishing in the middle of the Reach. Overall it was definitely a step in the right direction after the slow weekend. The biggest Fluke on the boat today was a 6 pounder, and high hook was 5 keepers.

Posted by lourusso3 at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Randy Vena won Saturday's small fish pool with this 1.3 ounce flounder. Way to go Randy!!!

Posted by lourusso3 at 06:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pedro won Saturday's pool with this 5 pound Fluke.

   I'm not going to sugarcoat this weekends fishing at all. It was not good. We covered alot of ground over the last two days, and it's the same everywhere. We had an outgoing tide both days for the whole trip, and for whatever reason, the Fluke just did not want to bite on it. We slowly picked on a few spots in the Reach, and on the Knoll, but not enough to to say it was good. We caught around 40 to 45 keepers each day. High hook Saturday was John Bottles with 6 Fluke, and Sunday's high hook was 5. The pool winning fish on Saturday was a 5 pounder caught by Pedro, and Sunday's pool was 4 pounds.

Posted by lourusso3 at 06:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Tough day of fishing. We worked from the western end of the Reach, all the way to Sandy Hook. Ended the day on the Knoll. Picked a couple of fish everywhere, but not enough by any means. Not too good of a day. Today's pool winner was Bobby Rapp, and high hook was Jimmy Chambers, and Austin Blackman, Edison, NJ, who each had 6 keeper Fluke. (Sorry about the picture Jimmy and Austin. I deleted my memory card by mistake.)

Posted by lourusso3 at 06:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Started the morning at the western end of the Reach Channel. Made a long first drift with the outgoing tide, and slowly picked the Fluke along the way. Most of what we caught we kept. Was not fireball fishing, but it wasn't bad either. They did add up at the end of the first drift for a few people. After the initial drift the fishing slowed a bit. Still had good conditions, but a few ships came through the channel, and that usually shuts the fish down for a while. Worked our way east to the Keansburg buoy, but nothing bit there. Headed to the eastern end of the Reach to finish the day, but couldn't get much going again. The first three hours of the day were the best today. High hook was 6 keepers, and that was by Bob Doichler, and George Cariglia. Today's pool winner was 4 pounds.

Posted by lourusso3 at 08:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Fished the back of the bay again this evening. We did manage to pick some keepers in between the thunderstorms. Wasn't great, but we did catch a few nice fish. 10 year old Kevin Carey, Holmdel, NJ, won tonights pool with a 7 pound Fluke.

Posted by lourusso3 at 07:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Fished the back of the bay for most of the day today. The first drift of the day was the best, and it was a slow pick after that.

Posted by lourusso3 at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today's pool winner.

   Headed to the back of the bay to start the morning. We had outgoing water until 10:30, and set up on the edge of the channel where we had our best fishing yesterday. We picked the shorts and keepers until we lost the drift. It was good fishing, and a pretty high keeper ratio. After we lost the current, we headed to the Keansburg buoy, and then the eastern end of the Reach looking to get some movement with the incoming water. A light southwest wind came up along with the tide, but nothing bit. Worked our way back to the western end of the bay to finish off the day, and picked some more shorts and keepers to end it. The fishing in the back of the bay has been the best over the last couple of days. We haven't seen much fish anywhere else. Today's high hook was 6 fish.  

Posted by lourusso3 at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Caught the last hour of outgoing water in the back of the bay this morning, and put together a nice catch before the conditions deteriorated. We had a good hour and a half of fishing, and the keeper ratio was around 50/50. Once we lost the tide we, we worked our way east up the Reach Channel. Couldn't get anything going. Headed to the tip of the Hook, and found some incoming current. We picked away at the shorts, some keepers, and Sea Robins. After a couple of drifts, the Robins completely took over, and we headed to the ocean. Make one drifting Sandy Hook Channel, but it was way too fast to catch anything, so we went back to the Reach. Finished the day with a good shot of fish for the last half hour of the day. High hook today was 5 fish.

Posted by lourusso3 at 03:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   The 2007 Fluke season has been a good one so far. A little inconsistent the last couple of weeks, but overall it has been pretty good. We have seen quite a few big fish so far, and with around two thirds of the season left, I'm sure there will be more big Fluke to talk about. Here is a run down of the biggest Fluke of the season so far.

Gary Thompson              11.1 pounds

Kevin Meskill                  10.6 pounds

Jenna Jurewicz               10.2 pounds

Frank Moltisanti                8.7 pounds

George Krenick                  8.7 pounds

Posted by lourusso3 at 09:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   We had hoped to get a good hour and a half of fishing in before the tide change this morning, but as it goes in the fishing world, don't count on anything!! We had good conditions, but the Fluke didn't bite. We fished Keansburg, The Reach Channel, the tip of the Hook, The Knoll, and Sandy Hook Channel. Tough day all around. John Bottles was today's high hook with 6 keeper Fluke.

Posted by lourusso3 at 09:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cassie Ralph won tonights pool with this 4.5 pound Fluke.

Posted by lourusso3 at 09:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Today we started in the Reach channel, and had a very good half hour to start the day. After the tide change at 8:30 we didn't see much until the last half hour of the day when we had the next tide change. Kind of a tough day overall, but we did have one person with his limit, and another with 6 keepers.

Posted by lourusso3 at 09:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gary Thompson caught the biggest Fluke of the year today. His fish weighed in at 11.1 pounds.

   Slow day today. We had wind against tide for most of the day, and didn't catch many Fluke till the tide change around 1:00pm. We tried a few different spots without any really success. With the tide change came the fishing that we had the other day. We set up on the Reach Channel, and had a decent pick of Fluke. Not the fireball fishing we had the other day, but it was good. Right at the start of the outgoing water, Gary Thompson hooked into a largest Fluke of the year. His fish weighed in at 11.1 pounds. Hopefully tomorrow we can get some float in the morning because there are some nice Fluke along the Eastern end of the Reach waiting to be caught. High hook today was 4 keepers, and that was by Carmine Mangini, Keyport, NJ.

Posted by lourusso3 at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Patrick Strang, Keyport, NJ, was today's high hook with 4 keepers.

   We sailed today with only a handful of people. The weather was not good with a little rain, and a hard south wind. Didn't catch much because of the conditions. Ended up with 14 fish for 7 people.

Posted by lourusso3 at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

   I am going to skip over the first half of the day because it was horrible. We had too much drift where we were trying to fish, with the wind and current together, to catch anything. So I will jump right to the tide change around noon. We set up in the middle of the Reach Channel to catch the beginning of the outgoing tide, and had super fishing. Alot of bigger fish, and most of what we caught, we kept. We had one person catch their limit, and a few with 7 keepers. The biggest fish on the boat today was a 7.15 pound Fluke, and we had a couple in the 4 to 5 pound range. Excellent hour and a half of fishing to end the day. . . Also, I would like Mr. Bottles to take note of the photos over the last few days. Brown sides!!!!!

Posted by lourusso3 at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Today we started off with a bang when Bob Doichler, Union Beach, NJ, hooked into a 7 pound Fluke for the first fish of the day. Not much happened after that for the next 2 hours. We worked all along the eastern end of the Reach Channel until the tide change which came around 11:00am. We set up in the middle of the Reach where we saw some fish yesterday. After the current started running, we saw a good amount of fish. The keeper ratio was high, and a few people who had none, and 1 fish, ended up with 3 , 4 , and 5 fish in their buckets by the end of the day. It was a good way to end the trip. Today's high hook was John Hannah who had 7 keepers.

Posted by lourusso3 at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bill Codd showing his pool winning fish from Monday's trip.

Posted by lourusso3 at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

     Fishing was a little better today. We started off trying something new all the way on the western most end of the bay. It was absolutely terrific for one person, and horrible for the rest of the boat. John Hannah managed to throw 4 keepers in his bucket on the first drift. No one else on the boat had a bite. After telling Mr. Hannah not to be offended, we marched on to the middle of the Reach Channel. After a few no productive drifts there, we moved toward Sandy Hook. We did pick a few keepers, and shorts, but not enough for us to hang in there. At the change of tide we moved back to the Reach, and put together a nice catch of fish. Alot of bigger fish were caught, and Bill Codd, Staten Island, caught the biggest of the day. Bill's fish weighed in at 5 pounds, and he also had 5 other fish to go along with it. Today's high hook was 7 fish.

Posted by lourusso3 at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

John Bottles, Edison, NJ, shows how to catch a Fluke on some extreme light tackle.

Posted by lourusso3 at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Scott Ritchie, Piscataway, NJ, holding his pool winning 7 pound Fluke.

   Not much to report today. Pretty slow everywhere we went. Slowly picked some shorts, and a few keepers on each drift, but not good at all. Fished from the middle of the Reach, all the way to the Knoll, and back. Started the day with wind against tide, but even with the tide change, we couldn't find any fish that wanted to bite. We are on a full moon this weekend, and typically the Fluke don't bite on a moon. So, hopefully tomorrow is better. The one bright spot of the day was Scott Ritchie, Piscataway, NJ, who caught a 7 pound Fluke.

Posted by lourusso3 at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Byung C. Dokko, and Mike Melillo holding up their pool tying, 6 pound Fluke from Saturday's trip.

Posted by lourusso3 at 11:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tim Dickerson holding up two of his Fluke that weighed in just under 6 pounds.

Posted by lourusso3 at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Started the morning with slack tide, and not much wind. Made our first stop at the Keansburg buoy, and after a couple of drifts, marched on to the Reach Channel. Started around the midway point of the channel, and waited for some current to float us. We did slowly pick some fish, but couldn't get enough current to stay with it. Moved further east to the Knoll, and had a pick of sorts, and Sea Robins with an occasional keeper mixed in. The good news was that we were drifting, but the bad news was the overwhelming amount of Robins that moved in to the area. There are some Fluke sped out here, but it was very hard to keep the bait down for any amount of time without getting hit by a bird. Overall it was an ok day. High hook was 5 keepers, and today's pool was split between Byung C. Dokko, Colonia, NJ, and Mike Melillo, Berkeley Heights, NJ. Byung, and Mike each had a 6 pound Fluke. Tim Dickerson was close behind with two Fluke that weighed just a couple of ounces under 6 pounds.

Posted by lourusso3 at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Headed to the Keansburg Buoy to start the day, but not the same results as yesterday. After a couple of short drifts we headed over to the Reach Channel to catch the start of the outgoing water. Experienced excellent conditions with a west wind pushing us along with the tide, and we caught fish all along the channels edge. Made a couple of long drifts, and picked a nice amount of keepers, and shorts.  We finished the day at the point of the hook, and found a nice amount of fish again, with a good amount keepers in the mix. We had quite a few fish over 4 pounds again today. The pool winner for today was a 6 pounder, and high hook had their limit. Excellent fishing heading into the weekend!!!

Posted by lourusso3 at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Artie Razillard won today's pool with this 5 pound Fluke.

Posted by lourusso3 at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Pretty good fishing today. Started things off at the Keansburg Buoy, and had a nice shot of keepers right off the bat. We made a couple of drifts, and then headed to the middle of the Reach for the change of tide. We made a long drift down the channel, and picked fish the whole way. The keeper ratio was way up. Alot of fish in the 3 to 4 pound range were caught. Today's high hook had their limit, and the pool winner was a 5 pound Fluke caught by Artie Razillard.

Posted by lourusso3 at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)