06/30/2012 - Fluke Fishing on OOAL

06/30/2012 - Fluke Fishing on OOAL


Well, we're back on the good ol' Out on a Limb Worldcat Edition out of Keyport, NJ for another fun day of bucktailing the rough stuff in search of some big flatties!
I arrived at the boat right at daybreak to meet up with Steve (aka Socks), Mike (aka Captain Panic), John (aka Lobo)...along with two newcomers to the fluke game: Fred and Chris!

Let's walk through a few pics on the day and enjoy the fun!


The start of a beautiful morning!



Socks arrives...ripe with anticipation!


In case you're wondering why in the world we call him Socks...well, this picture tells the tale!  Hence the long standing nickname of Captain Looks Like He's Wearing Socks!!! haha



Lobo, lookin serious!



A little scenery on the way out of the marina...





Mike, taking it all in...enjoying some fresh grapes..."Hey I have 2 keepers...want some grapes?"



Socks, remarking on how GOOD the coffee was...good enough to take paint off the deck!



Fred and Chris getting rigs ready!



Lobo still isn't smiling...VERY serious...AND he has a pair of scissors in his hands!



Riding across the bay...little bit of New York in the distance...



We arrived at the first spot and had a slow pick, so we moved off to another area.
Some familiar faces were around though...and not sure what is going on here...LOT of finger pointing going on! haha



A little later in the morning...I spy this suspicious activity!  Texting GPS coordinates?!?!?  Socks, say it aint so!!!



JR...captain, arborist, possible refugee...a true multitasker...able to hook fluke and eat a sandwich WITHOUT HANDS! haha



Final fish pic from the day...another 50+ keepers, keeping our limit of 35 and releasing the rest.  Some nice fish in the mix, including a few in the 7-8lb range.



Here's two nice ones from the trip!



Fluking is pretty good right now with two back to back Saturdays with 50+ keepers...last Saturday on OOAL4 Yellowfin Edition and this Saturday on OOAL World Cat Edition!
The best time of year (IMO) is here...and I have some more fluke trips on the horizon!  Can't wait!  Is it Friday yet? :)

Until next time...

06/24/2012 - Mateyak Fluke Trip on the MIMI VI

06/24/2012 - Mateyak Fluke Trip on the MIMI VI

Well due to a little scheduling mishap, the annual Mateyak fluke trip was a little early this year!
We headed out of Point Pleasant on the MIMI VI with some friends and family in hopes of a catching some of those elusive flatties!
It was a beautiful day on the water, but a lack of wind and drift really made it tough to cover ground and as a result, the bite wasn't very good, but we still managed to get some fish for the coolers and have a good time!


Here's a few shots from the day...


Heading out...







Group shots, some new faces in the mix!







Dad and Stephen posing for the camera...



Oh boy, the cardinal sin!  I'm not superstitious, neither is Chris obviously, but...maybe we both should be! :)



Dad with a keeper!



One of my shorts that hung around on the gunnel for a bit...he wasn't too camera shy!





And a seabass that made it to the cooler!



Awesome colors!



Always trying to get the kids involved on these trips too!




Well that's all I have for this year's trip, not as many pics as usual...I'm blaming the heat, slow fishing, and long weekend with no sleep! :)
Still a great time out there, hopefully next time we can get some better conditions and catch a few more keepers!


Until next time...

06/23/2012 - Fluke Fishing on OOAL4

06/23/2012 - Fluke Fishing on OOAL4

Quick little report from this past weekend!

After a night at the Revel in AC watching the UFC fights and throwing some money down on RED playing a spin at roulette...I headed home just in time to get pulled over for running a red...fortunately I got off...it was yellow anyway! haha  Alright perfect!  Back home for a solid ONE hour of sleep before departing my place to meet up with Doug, Vongas, Ron, Mike (Garone Custom Rods), and JR for a little fun on the fluking grounds!

I was a smidge tired, so my pic taking effort was rather minimal...and I only fell asleep at the rod once...ok twice!  Don't worry, my catch for the day reflected it!  Fortunately the rest of the crew picked up my slack! ;)


Here's a few pics from the day...


On the way to gas up...JR sporting his SJ Shark Tourney T...and Ron, not looking too pumped up yet!  C'mon Ron...get in the game buddy!



Sooooooo we're gassin up and Doug is doing his thing...smoking artifical smoke vapor like a chimney...



And here's Doug explaining, "It's not a real cigarette" when the gas attendant freaks out saying "I HOPE YOU'RE NOT SMOKING AT THE GAS DOCK!!!"
I think Doug should have totally played it off like it was real...



Joe Jigs, Vongas, Mike G, JR, and Ron in the background...waiting...BIG gas bill...



Not sure what happened here, Mike's acting pretty innocent over something...which is usually a sign you're 100% guilty! haha



Alright, we're off!  A little scenery in the inlet on the way out...



Doug peering off in the distance, reflecting on life and fluke fishing...while Joe Jigs is in some serious thought over what color bucktail he should start with!



We break the inlet to a nice sunrise...



As we ride north...it looks like a storm is brewing...



Pretty dark and ominous over the Highlands...



The sun is trying to break through though...and burns off the clouds a short while later!



We're on to some fishing, where Ron starts us off!



And so it starts...the day Doug destroys the fluke!  This was his first of many that day...I think he caught a limit...or 4...



JR is like a rainbow of color!



The boys, workin it!



My reel is working fine...but there was definitely some operator error that day!



Doug, doing the low hold, secret fluke picture holding technique!



Joe lands a nice one later in the day...no secrets here...he's a photo ham!!!  Nice fish dude!



And our final catch of the day!  Boat limit plus!



Real nice day on the water with some great fishing!  Fish were there, just had to pick our way through the bite to fill the box with a boat limit and released a bunch of other keepers for another day.  I'd say we had to have 50+ keepers on the day, most not even needing a measure...lots of 3-4# fish mixed in with a couple in the 6-7# range...even a few sea bass mixed in!  What more can ya ask for? :)


Until next time...

06/07/2012, 06/08/2012 & 06/09/2012 - 2012 South Jersey Shark Tournament

06/07/2012, 06/08/2012 & 06/09/2012 - 2012 South Jersey Shark Tournament


Day 0 - 06/07/2012

Well, it's that time of year again to head down to Cape May and do a little shark fishing!  I was fortunate enough to be invited again to fish this year's South Jersey Shark Tournament aboard Out on a Limb 4 captained by JR with Chris, Doug, Joel rounding out the rest of the crew!

As usual, I'll let the pics do most of the talking...they tell a better story anyway! ;)

We all headed down Thursday afternoon to get everything prepped and ready to roll, as well as attend the captain's meeting!
There were a few last minute upgrades being done on the boat by a mechanic, so we headed to the store to burn some time and money! haha


Chris was spot on in his shopping prowess, immediately picking out these rare but perfectly sized Ugg look alike boots for Doug!
Unfortunately...we couldn't find the other one to make a matching pair...so no sale was secured!  Sorry Doug, he was pretty disappointed!



Although not for long...because Doug managed to find a hat he was REALLY excited about!



JR was in search of some shorts...so while he was doing his whole fashion show escapade trying them on, I checked out his new phone case!
I love the big CAUTION...I'm certain JR never even read any of that yellow label.
I'm also going to say that LifeProof is NOT JRProof...and it's probably already been verified by now!



Alright, shopping is done for the boys...so we head down to the marina for the captain's meeting.
Shot of the main marina...



And where the weigh-in will take place!



And the record catches over the years, as well as the leaders this year for all species...



Doug...mastering the art of talking on the phone, while sleeping...and inhaling vapor faux cigarettes!
After observing this weekend...I'm pretty sure Doug breaths more of that vapor than actual oxygen!



While JR, on the other hand, has mastered the art of healthy eating...celery?  Really?  Wow!



Everyone lining up to register...



Pretty breezy with some clouds rolling in had us a bit concerned...



Other side of the marina...



The crowd forming...





Once we were registered, we headed down to our marina to meet with the mechanic and get the boat prepped and loaded!
A little scenery once we got there...







JR waiting for the boat to hit the dock...



Here she comes!



Good ol' Out on a Limb 4, ready for action!





We spend the next hour or so loading everything up for the following morning!
Here's the boys coming back to fill another cart!



And a final sunset before we head to dinner!



Why not hit up the Harbor View Marina & Restaurant to try out a burger and beer!  Perfect!



Then back to the hotel to tie rigs and prep the rods...and for Chris to do a little fashion show of his own!  This hat was AWESOME!  You'll see it often in these pics!



Doug, doing some mono leader bicep curls before we all head to bed for the night!




Day 1 - 06/08/2012

We kick off the morning of Day 1 and kick it off right!  JR rockin the good luck Wawa Hoagiefest tiedye!



We head to the marina and down to the boat as the sun is rising...



The boys packing up...





And we're off!



Doug, dusting off the shades!



What's up Skipper!



Joel, Doug, and Chris ready!



We break the inlet and start cruising!



Hold on!







Ahhh the anticipation as we arrive at our spot!



Nice water!



Nice scenery, beautiful morning!



Tournament start time comes and we promptly set lines in the water!



Wawa Hoagiefest in the house!!!



El Capitan, Joel, makin sure the mako finisher is ready to rock!



JR and Chris...fishing...very close to each other!  A sign of things to come later?  Hmmmmm....



Chris, ballooning it up!



Ahhhh, the waiting game...



Couple shots of the reels and rods we use...







We fished the day out, but unfortunately didn't hook into any qualifying makos!
Day 1 comes to an end and we head in...Chris, don't jump over and blow the whistle yet man!!!  We still have Day 2!!!





Day 2 - 06/09/2012


Day 2, we head back to the marina and I catch a couple quick pics of the sunrise before heading out...





Cruising through the bay and inlet...



Beautiful sunrise!



Joel, holdin on!



Doug...breathing vapor!



Chris, holdin on too!



JR doesn't need to hold on, even that vapor Doug is exhaling over there doesn't phase him!



Why you ask?  MUSCLE MILK (that contains no milk?!?!?)!!!



We head to a new area that morning, and set the lines in the water at the official start time!



Workin the rods...



Now I told ya yesterday, Chris and JR were getting kinda close!  Chris gives the whole "Hey, my sunglasses are dirty, mind if I use your shirt to clean them off?" line!



But I knew what was really up...he was moving in for the real action!!! hahaha



Listen, sometimes the fishing is slow...and you need to have a little fun, maybe eat a bag of chips...or celery if you prefer, and occassionally head to the back of the boat to...well...



All I know is Cubans can get some distance...DAMN!!!



OK, c'mon, don't try to hide it now!  You're messin up the flow dude!



Look, now it's all jacked up lookin like a shower faucet!



What is that, the vertical shower spray setting?



Alright...c'mon folks...you don't think we're that crazy do you?  This isn't Shark Fishermen Gone Wild!  It's just a hose folks...just a hose...and one twisted Cuban guy!!! haha



After all that hard work and fun...time to refuel!



Are you seeing a pattern develop here...or is it just me? haha



And moments later...a mako comes in the slick and FISH ON!



Get em Dougie!





Bringin him in, small mako we released!









Wicked teeth!



No rest for the weary...especially with all of us pranksters!  This time Joel is having some fun with the balloons haha





And again, moments later...HOOKED UP!  JR on the rod, in his patented beltless, gimble in the unzipped fly fighting style!!! OK, OK...that was last year...he has a fighting belt this year!



While Joel gets ready with the GoPro!



Get em JR!







Alright, little gap in the pics here as we all had roles and I had something to shoot this time!  We eyed this one up and it looked like it might be close, so we made the decision to take it!



We head back in to get it weighed and arrive at the marina...



We're hopeful...it's gonna be close to the 200# minimum



And off it goes!



Up onto the scale!



And weighing in at 180#, short of the minimum but we'll still get some delicious steaks!



And riding it back to our marina...opposing views...





And a quick dock pic...



A couple with Chris...





One with Joel, myself, and Doug...



And a final one with Joel being CRAZY!





Well, that's all for the weekend and an awesome weekend it was!  Unfortunately we didn't get a fish meeting the minimum this year...that big fish just never showed up in the slick for us, but we definitely had a great time along with some phenomenal steaks to bring home for dinner!  Always a great time fishing with the boys and we have fun no matter what goes down!  Hopefully next year the Out on a Limb 4 crew can get back in the money!


Until next time...