Due to family obligations, I could only fish a 1/2 day trip today, so I joined up with Doug, Doug's Dad, and Jimmy to do a little fluking aboard the Atlantic Star in the Highlands!
Of course I didn't know what our plans were until 5:30AM that morning, so in true tourist fashion, I arrived at the boat promptly at 7:45AM for an 8:00AM departure! Haha
The boat was absolutely packed...which of course means a nice pool will be brewing!
I head up to the bow to meet up with the crew and am greeted by a few other NJFishing guys...I believe Tireman and his buddy who's nickname escapes me were up in the bow as well.
Tom makes his way out to the fluking grounds at 8:00AM as we're greeted by a light SW to West wind...conditions not looking bad, but we knew a bigger breeze was on it's way later in the day.
We setup on the first drift and had a pick of some shorts at first, then Doug hooked into and landed a nice 5lb flattie!
Moments later, I dropped a keeper (99.9% sure) about 3/4s of the way up...and then it went pretty much dead on the drift.
Tom circled back up and redrifted two or three more times, but it seemed to yield nothing more than some shorts and maybe another keeper or two.
Given the results, Tom made a move up the channel a bit to see if there was more life up there.
Again, we get setup, I toss out a bucktail and 2 bumps and BAM I hook into and land a nice flattie also around the 5lb mark.
I ribbed Doug about possibly edging him out in the pool now and jeered not to feel bad, he might hold on to second place! LOL
Well Doug would have the last laugh...literally on the next cast, I distinctly remember watching Doug cast just prior to me so I flipped mine out a little away from him to avoid any tangles, Doug hits the bottom and seconds later hooks into a real nice one. I see that infamous Fenwick doubled over but the Avet is doing it's job and bringing the fish up...well at least until it neared the boat and that drag started screaming back down! The mate comes up with the net as Doug's bringing the fish back up to the boat and kind of humorously says "I don't really like this net". I started laughing, I think Doug might have thrown up in his mouth a little...neither of us is sure if he was serious or not! Hahaha So Doug gets the fish up to the surface and the mate does a great job netting him...as soon as the fluke hit the deck, I knew he was over and 10 and close to 11lbs...awesome fish!
Here's a shot of Doug with the slammer right after he caught it!
We redrifted the area another time or two as the wind started increasing, keepers coming over the rail but the bite decreasing a bit. Seemed like after the first drift they were on to us, and the same drift wasn't producing...that or they were moving through the area. Either way, the wind got to excessive speeds making for a fast drift, so Tom headed into shallower water for an easier hold on bottom. The boat picked at a some shorts and a few keepers over the next hour or so, but that wind was just fierce...really unfortunate we couldn't continue to hang in the deeper water where those big boys were roaming...but it was still a great day on the water!
We headed in a little after noon time, hit the dock and weighed Doug's fish in at the tackle shop.
Doug's personal best fluke came in at 10lb 11oz, nice job buddy!
Here's a few pics from the day!
Oh baby...she's a little packed today! No doubt the afternoon weather weighed on some minds, as the 3/4 day boats were empty. Of course, Tom always draws a good crowd as other 1/2 boats were also a little light.
Tom...leading the way!
Doug's pumped!
Jimmy's kinda ready!
The 1/2 day trips are short for me, and given Doug's slob fish...I was all about fishing, not so much about picture taking...so here's a few from the end of the day!
Bruce and the 2nd place pool fish, good for 1/3 of the pool!
Doug with his two big fish of the day!
Bruce and Doug together, pool fish.
Doug with the 1st place pool fish, good for 2/3 of the pool! Nice dude!
And a little white side action...
It was a great trip and an awesome time out there aboard the Atlantic Star. Been awhile since I sailed on her, but given my schedule today, it was the perfect time to jump on!
Of course, I don't think you'll get any argument from Doug on that either! :D
Until next time...
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