OK, after a long, hard weekend of golfing on Friday and camping Friday through Sunday, I decided to take a much needed day off work (haha) and head out fluking Monday on the Atlantic Star out of the Atlantic Highlands, NJ for double header 1/2 day trips with my buddy Doug, Doug's Dad, and their friends Mark and his wife Drena.
We all arrived at the boat around the same time, not super early...probably around 7:10AM or so, preparing for an 8:00AM departure. We head up towards the bow, and know we're running a little late, plus we want 6 consecutive spots so we can all fish together...so we wind up just shy of the port bow. We come prepared with strip bait, killies, and Gulp. I recognize one of the mates eventually, it doesn't hit me at first when my buddy mentions his name because I only know him from Belmar when he mated on the Captain Cal...but here Carl is...back from another tour with the military and working up in the Highlands. I haven't seen him in probably 6-7 years...good guy and nice to see him again.
Anyway, we prepare for the trip, get everyone rigged up and ready to go. Bait's thawing, and the ball busting begins promptly as we try to predict what hell Doug will put us through today as he winds up smack in the middle of myself and his Dad. I predict Doug's Dad as the joker to the right and myself as the clown to the left...with Doug stuck in the middle, bailing fish. Haha. I've never met Mark nor his wife before today, but I hear Mark is an incessant ball buster...so I can't wait for the antics to begin and can only hope he beats on the fish and gives Doug a run for his money.
While we are waiting to depart, I decide to flip a bucktail off the bow and catch a little shorty fluke, as well as a 4oz sinker attached to a ton of line. Interestingly, the guy watching me told me about this time when he snagged a line off the docks and pulled in a nice tuna rod and reel...ironic given what happens later!
So we finally depart and head out to the Raritan Bay. Bob comes around and collects fares and pool money, good crowd on board...probably 60 people or so. We get out there and encounter pretty driftless conditions...the sun is just beating down on us, it's hot, muggy, and not a breathe of wind to relieve it. I choose to bucktail with my light spinning setup given the conditions, but don't get a ton of hits. I catch a few small fluke, while Mark quickly brings two keepers over the rail. Doug in the meantime is off to a slow start and tangling up everyone! Good job there buddy! Haha, OK...seriously, he was getting tangled up when he wasn't bailing sea robin after sea robin. Eventually he spots some room in the stern and escapes the ball busting and tangles. I eventually land a nice keeper in the 2.5# range or so and a few more shorts, then Doug's Dad gets a keeper, and I land another one later on. Meanwhile Doug is back and bailing sea robins like a champ! I figure he has to be up to about 30 by now. The rest of the morning is pretty uneventful, some shorts around and a few keepers around the boat, but the driftless conditions are making it tough to cover water. The morning trip comes to an end, and I have 2 keepers, Mark has 2 keepers, Doug's Dad has 1 keeper, Doug has none, and Drena has none. Let me repeat that one more time in case anyone missed it...DOUG HAS NO KEEPERS!!! April Fools? No, it's June. I'm still trying to grasp this anomaly myself! As it turns out, I wind up winning the 1st place pool money with my MONSTER 2.5# fluke! Half to the mates, half to me...and everyone is happy...well almost everyone, I saw Doug pouting on the top deck. He's OK though, he knows we have the second half yet! Meanwhile Mark is still busting his chops!
We hit the dock and guys are already itching to get on board for the afternoon. Doug and I move up to the pulpit and lock our spots for the afternoon before anyone else gets on. Then we all hit up some lunch and relax while we wait for the afternoon trip to depart. In an effort to spend money and cure boredom...Doug and I head to the bait and tackle shop and grab another Spro or two to try out. I pick up a copper colored "Mullet" (say what?) pattern and Doug grabs a School Bus pattern to give them a go...neither works overly well though as it turns out. Just another Spro to add to the box!
So anyway, we are off on the afternoon trip...and the strangest of things happens. I remember Captain Tom saying "it'll be a little windy out there" just as we departed, and I thought to myself...we didn't have a breath of wind earlier...how windy can it be? Well...let me tell you, that South wind kicked up and was blowing like a constant 25mph+ the entire afternoon...it was unbelievable. Even crazier is you'd think we'd have a sick drift going on, but it was wind against the tide...which left us moving but not very fast...but at least we were drifting.
Captain Tom his a few spots, and larger fish started coming over the rail. Less shorts, but more big keepers than the morning trip. I had a difficult time and just couldn't hook up with any keepers at all and only a handful of shorts. Meanwhile Doug's Dad turned it on and landed 3 more keepers including the 2nd place pool fish for the afternoon, a nice 4.0-4.5# fish or so. 1st place went to a guy in the stern with a 9.25# monster! Talk about dwarfing my morning 1st place...I think there were like 10 fish on board in the afternoon that were bigger than my morning winner! So Doug's Dad is on the fish, and Doug starts to turn it on...gets a keeper to the boat but loses it right as the next gets down to it. He eventually hauls in about 50 more sea robins with a few fluke mixed in, including two more keepers. Meanwhile, I'm landing skates, sea robins, and shorties...keepers all around me...bucktailing not doing the trick. I keep switching it up, trying this and trying that...but can't seem to find the right combo, nor the fish...even using the same thing Doug is (same story, different day). In the afternoon, Doug's Dad landed 3 more keepers, Doug landed 2, and I think Mark, Drena, and myself all got just shorts.
Overall, the morning bite seemed better, more fish but better/bigger ones in the afternoon. Captain Tom hustled around the various haunts trying to find those elusive flatties and landed on a few nice pods, the conditions just weren't cooperating but he got us all some fish! Really a nice boat, and a friendly crew...I even saw Captain Tom down on deck netting fish and BSing with the customers. And mates Carl and Bob worked the deck well, great service! I'll tell you another thing I noticed that I don't always see on boats is that Tom made an effort to help customers via the wheelhouse, paying close attention...especially to the beginners, on how to properly handle the rods/reels, feeling for the bottom, staying on top of the conditions and necessary weight required, etc...all signs of a great captain! I've been on boats where captains go in the wheelhouse and you never see them again, definitely not the case on this boat as Tom certainly likes to stay involved and on top of things to increase everyone's chance of catching fish! Big thumbs up!
OK, so here's some pics on the day...
Doug's Dad showing Mark and Drena how he rigs up for fluke...
Doug, putting his game face on...
Few people lounging up front waiting to depart...
More rigging fun...
Doug and I, ready for some action
On the way out, somewhat a group picture of us all making fun of some hand gesture thing Doug did as a kid that I found out about in the morning...I still have no idea what the significance is, or what the mysterious sound is Doug used to make...I'm awaiting the rest of the story!
Few shots on the way out in the morning...
Well, we tried drifting in the channel, then this badboy came through...so we hung off on the flats for a bit...
Doug's Dad fighting one...might have been a sea robin since I have no after pic...
Doug, releasing a fluke...
But not before he get's a little somethin somethin...hey, did your wife see this yet?
Doug's Dad, enjoying one of my Kojak Pops while putting the hook to one!
Fluke!!!
Well, you remember the irony of that guy mentioning catching a rod...here's a rod Doug's Dad and I co-caught out in the bay! Would have been a nice setup, Penn Custom Power Stick and a Penn International 975 attached to it. Shame...totally shot, I left it at the dock.
And here's my poolfish from the morning...
Everyone lounging while we wait for the afternoon trip.
Drena tried dodging the camera, but I got her!
Then there was this nice spectacle, as the Sea Fox tried to get back to it's dock...this private boat blocked the waterway and pinned the Sea Fox trying to turn around and back into the slip. Note the Sea Fox docks on the portside of the Atlantic Star...so it has to swing in front of the AS bow yet.
There's actually a bow line in the water here, and the Sea Fox was probably seconds away from taking it in the wheel...would have been bad news!
Close call...good captaining/maneuvering...they eventually got in their slip OK.
Anyway, moving along to the afternoon trip...greeted by windy conditions and whitecaps...
Little railed. Also note the guy right in front there was fishing live herring...he had only a few shorts, no keepers. Prime bait, just nothing doing for him.
Other side...
Doug's Dad hooking up a keeper!
Doug...with a fluke...finally! Wow buddy, I was getting worried!
Doug's Dad with the 2nd place afternoon pool fish!
I didn't get his name, but here is the 1st place afternoon pool fish at 9.25#
And a final shot of Doug...little sunburned there buddy?
So overall, this was a great set of trips, always a nice time fishing with Doug and his dad, and great to meet Mark and his wife Drena. Captain Tom and mates Carl and Bob did a great job, really a nice boat and a pleasure to fish with them. Fishing was a little tough, you know it's tough when Doug isn't catching, but Tom tried his best to get us on the fish and did a good job of it. We all had plenty of fillets to go home with in the end!
Until next time...
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