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I planned to fish on a return trip from dropping off my daughter in Mass. and made arrangements to target NJ on my way home to MD. Despite growing up in Huntington, I was unfamiliar with the waters I had in mind.
I reached out to the brotherhood of kayak fisherman through the kfa-ny.org forum and James (Onelastcast) responded. I explained that my current plan was to fish Raritan Bay, but I wanted to explore other possibilities that might be more protected from the NE winds that were forecast. He graciously offered the information I needed to hear to change my current plan.
I rearranged my logistics and started driving from Worcester, MA at 4am. The car was pointed towards Jamaica Bay.
The intel James shared was that many monster fish were being taken on Tube and Worms. I, of course, forgot to pack any tubes, so I hit Crossbay Bait & Tackle on the way to the launch and stocked up on new tubes and a dozen live sandworms. I pushed away for the launch at 830am to a cresting tide, light NE winds and 59 degree water.
I set out and quickly discovered crowded water of both kayakers and boaters, mostly snagging and live lining bunker. This is not a familiar practice to me, so I trolled the perimeter of the pack and picked up a personal best Bluefish at 27” while I watched and learned. I caught another 20" blue just as I finally connected with James on the water.
Soon after the tide went slack and the winds picked up. There was a long lull before the bite returned. It had been a slow day for everyone, unlike the prior two, when there were many fish to be had.
Eventually the winds laid down and there was sporadic chatter on the radio of individual fish being picked off. A 32" here, a 37" there. I really wanted in on the fun. I hadn't put in all the efforts to make this trip happen to come away without a Rockfish. I had come close to calling it a day when another report of a bruiser being caught pulled me back out for another loop.
As I worked a ledge along the beach, I had a strong takedown. it was a healthy fighter and, initially, I wasn't sure if it was a blue or striper. All I could see was that it was making a snarled mess of my second line. I would gain ground and then she would dive deep and make the drag sing falsetto.
When I finally got her up, I knew that this was going to be my new personal best. While I have been kayaking for years, I have only been fishing stripers for about 10 months. I had been working hard to crack into the 30" club. I've had plenty of high 20" fish, so it was good to get the monkey off my back
I hauled her into the boat and she measured in at 33". Not a monster, but more than enough to put a smile on my face that lasted the rest of the day.
I made one last pass and picked off another strong fish in the high twenties, but as I was grabbing the hook, she shook it in the instant I was about to haul her aboard.
I kept at it for another hour, but ended the day with only 4 fish. I am not complaining. Not in the least. I will take 4 fighters over a bunch of our Chesapeake residential schoolies any time.
The following day, I executed my original plan of hitting Raritan Bay to search of big bluefish, but came up empty. The blues that had been smashing bunker for weeks hadn’t come into the bay for 3 days prior to my arrival….
The day after, I tried Delaware bay near Lewes and again came away stinking of skunk….
As it turns out, James not only put me on 2 new PBs, but he saved my entire trip! I will long be appreciative of his generous assistance to make that happen. It seemed that he took almost as much pleasure at my catching fish as I did!
Needless to say, I will be back! Where else can you catch big fish and find real NY bagels and pizza?
G0021888.jpgDSCN3946.jpgG0017034.jpgG0021943.jpg
I reached out to the brotherhood of kayak fisherman through the kfa-ny.org forum and James (Onelastcast) responded. I explained that my current plan was to fish Raritan Bay, but I wanted to explore other possibilities that might be more protected from the NE winds that were forecast. He graciously offered the information I needed to hear to change my current plan.
I rearranged my logistics and started driving from Worcester, MA at 4am. The car was pointed towards Jamaica Bay.
The intel James shared was that many monster fish were being taken on Tube and Worms. I, of course, forgot to pack any tubes, so I hit Crossbay Bait & Tackle on the way to the launch and stocked up on new tubes and a dozen live sandworms. I pushed away for the launch at 830am to a cresting tide, light NE winds and 59 degree water.
I set out and quickly discovered crowded water of both kayakers and boaters, mostly snagging and live lining bunker. This is not a familiar practice to me, so I trolled the perimeter of the pack and picked up a personal best Bluefish at 27” while I watched and learned. I caught another 20" blue just as I finally connected with James on the water.
Soon after the tide went slack and the winds picked up. There was a long lull before the bite returned. It had been a slow day for everyone, unlike the prior two, when there were many fish to be had.
Eventually the winds laid down and there was sporadic chatter on the radio of individual fish being picked off. A 32" here, a 37" there. I really wanted in on the fun. I hadn't put in all the efforts to make this trip happen to come away without a Rockfish. I had come close to calling it a day when another report of a bruiser being caught pulled me back out for another loop.
As I worked a ledge along the beach, I had a strong takedown. it was a healthy fighter and, initially, I wasn't sure if it was a blue or striper. All I could see was that it was making a snarled mess of my second line. I would gain ground and then she would dive deep and make the drag sing falsetto.
When I finally got her up, I knew that this was going to be my new personal best. While I have been kayaking for years, I have only been fishing stripers for about 10 months. I had been working hard to crack into the 30" club. I've had plenty of high 20" fish, so it was good to get the monkey off my back
I hauled her into the boat and she measured in at 33". Not a monster, but more than enough to put a smile on my face that lasted the rest of the day.
I made one last pass and picked off another strong fish in the high twenties, but as I was grabbing the hook, she shook it in the instant I was about to haul her aboard.
I kept at it for another hour, but ended the day with only 4 fish. I am not complaining. Not in the least. I will take 4 fighters over a bunch of our Chesapeake residential schoolies any time.
The following day, I executed my original plan of hitting Raritan Bay to search of big bluefish, but came up empty. The blues that had been smashing bunker for weeks hadn’t come into the bay for 3 days prior to my arrival….
The day after, I tried Delaware bay near Lewes and again came away stinking of skunk….
As it turns out, James not only put me on 2 new PBs, but he saved my entire trip! I will long be appreciative of his generous assistance to make that happen. It seemed that he took almost as much pleasure at my catching fish as I did!
Needless to say, I will be back! Where else can you catch big fish and find real NY bagels and pizza?
G0021888.jpgDSCN3946.jpgG0017034.jpgG0021943.jpg
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