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Hooking Up Anglers Since 2011.
Young anglers have been stealing the spotlight from veteran striper fishermen lately, with one of them catching the largest party boat bass reported to me this year. Nine-year-old Bobby Root of Scotch Plains not only caught four bass during a hot bite aboard the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands on Monday, but one of them weighed 44 pounds. It must have...
Young anglers have been stealing the spotlight from veteran striper fishermen lately, with one of them catching the largest party boat bass reported to me this year.
Nine-year-old Bobby Root of Scotch Plains not only caught four bass during a hot bite aboard the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands on Monday, but one of them weighed 44 pounds. It must have been a big bass day, as Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. also reported his best of the season on the Jamaica from Brielle when Angel J. Pena of Sunnyside, N.Y., boated a 43 1/4-pounder.
Seven-year-old Jake McCabe of Bayville was trolling bunker spoons in 50 feet off the Seaside piers on Saturday with his grandfather, Mike McCabe Jr., when he reeled in a bass that weighed 39.28 pounds at Lacy Marine.
While 30- and 40-pound stripers have been fairly common lately, the 52 1/2-pounder weighed at The Tackle Box in Hazlet by Dan Studney of Highlands was only the second “50” reported so far this season. He said he caught it on bunker in the Reach and also had an 85-pound black drum.
Bob Stasiulaitis of Bridgewater has a 50-pound striper in his Bucket List and started working his way up to it by catching his largest bass last Friday as Capt. Hans Kaspersetz, Billy Dawson of Millington and I fished off Sandy Hook aboard Sheri Berri out of Baker’s Marina on the Bay in Highlands. We spotted some marks on the way back from Shrewsbury Rocks, and Stasiulaitis’ live bunker was attacked immediately. I needed both arms to lift that bass aboard after lipping it, which is a good sign to me that it was at least 40 pounds. The bass was only 44 1/2 inches overall, but had a big belly seemingly still holding roe that should have been shed by then.
Stasiulaitis was eager to get her back in the water, and a flexible tape wasn’t handy so we didn’t get the girth for use in the formula (length to the fork of the tail times girth squared, divided by 800) before sending her on her way. Unfortunately, in the rush, I forgot about the easy way to overcome such a situation that I’d used several times over the years. Just wrap a length of mono around the widest spot and cut it to leave you with a girth measurement you can take off a flat ruler.
Fishing was more productive Saturday when Kaspersetz and I fished the Rocks on Sheri Berri with Mike Fett of Wood-Ridge and his grandson, Adam Reigold, 9, of Franklin Lakes.
After not being able to get a hit the day before, I thought I’d forgotten everything I’d learned in over half a century of striper fishing — but Saturday, I must have remembered because I caught bass from 35 to 44 1/2 inches on every one of my five pickups while free-lining bunker. The other anglers were getting bluefish and dogfish hits until Kaspersetz added a bass.
Capt. Arthur Stokes said Fintastic caught about 30 bass that day from Spring Lake to Asbury Park. Gene Graman of Middletown fished the Rocks with That’s It from Twin Lights for six bass up to 35 pounds caught by Fred Fessel, Carlos Rebalo of Keyport, and Joe Greco of Fort Myers, Fla., (formerly of Edison) on live bunkers.
The JCAA Fluke Tournament will be contested statewide next Saturday. Saturday is the last day to sign up at the $120 boat fee. After that, it’s $150. Visit jcaa.org for information.
The Hi-Mar Spring Striper Tournament will be contested next Saturday and Sunday at Twin Lights Marina in Highlands. Proceeds go to Jason’s Dreams for kids, and stripers donated by the entrants are filleted for the Monmouth County Food Bank. The captains meeting is 7 p.m. Friday at Twin Lights, and the entry is $150 a boat. For information, call Barry Heffernan at (908) 309-9048.
Black drum are producing thrills for a few unsuspecting anglers. Capt. Arthur Stokes, of Fintastic at Clarks Landing in Point Pleasant, had his party snagging bunkers Saturday off Asbury Park when a school of drum came by — and one grabbed a snagged bunker practically at boatside. It was eventually boated, and weighed 56.6 pounds.
Tom Morford Jr. of Red Bank had no luck trolling stripers at the Rocks on Saturday, but was out again Sunday when a big fish was lost after hitting a bunker spoon off the Highlands Bridge.
This Fishing Report was submitted on 6/3/2011 8:08:06 AM by Seamus and last updated on 6/3/2011 8:08:06 AM.
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