Posts from — December 2009

Weakfish or Seatrout are one of the best tasting and most colorful fish in our waters. They typically like to congregate in bays and rivers rather then the open ocean. They can usually be found along or in deep channels and are often stacked up in great numbers in concentrated areas. Since they are usually in tight schools you will need to locate them. Once you have located a school it’s not uncommon to catch 20 + per person. They will typically average a few pounds and get as large as 8-10 lbs.

Time of Year:

Weakies will usually arrive in the area around June or July and will stay until mid September. They are usually one of the first fish to leave the area when the water starts to cool.

How To Catch Them:

• Drifting Sandworms from a drifting boat is perhaps the most popular and effective ways to catch Weaks. A three way swivel with a sinker and a 3 to 4 ft leader works well.
• Chumming from an anchored boat with Grass Shrimp is also popular.
• Jigging with lead headed jigs works as well. Tip your jig off with a Sandworm, Grass Shrimp or Fins.

Best Places To Catch Them:

• Delaware bay is perhaps the most popular area of the country to fish for Weakfish. It has a good number of Party boats that fish form them exclusively.
• Raritan and Sandy Hook bays are enjoying a good come back of these species in recent years. Areas like the Raritan Reach Channel, Princess Bay and the edges of Flynns Knoll are popular.
• Barnegat bay is also a poplar area but only in specific areas.

Some Fishing Tips:

• The best bite is at dusk and into the evening
• In addition to a sandworm, put a fire tail rubber worm on your hook.
• Try to avoid heavy traffic areas since these fish spook easy.
• Once you have located the fish keep drifts in a concentrated area. These fish are usually in tight packs rather then spread out over a large area.
• The best way to locate fish is to look for a concentration of birds. If you have a fish finder you will usually mark what looks like clouds of bait fish.
• When chumming with Grass Shrimp be sure not to be too generous or skimpy with the shrimp. It’s a good idea release 5-10 shrimp at 2 to 3 minute intervals to keep a consistent slick and hold fish. Too much shrimp in the water and the fish will hang back for the easy meal and not bother to move up into the slick for your baits. Too little and your not going to hold or attract fish.
• A slight change in wind direction or tide can turn these fish on or off.
• When fishing from shore with bait it’s best to use a float rig. It keeps the bait off the bottom and away from crabs.

It is of prime importance for boat owners to be able to conduct business with a certain amount of trust with the boat insurance company of their choice; however, it so happens that many insurance selling agents are just the wheeler-dealer types offload a policy you many not need or one that doesn’t quite cover your needs properly.

This is only a smart ploy made out by boat insurance company agents to achieve their monthly sales target and perhaps get the ill-informed customer to pay up for additional coverage down the line. To avoid this kind of cheating, you as a boat owner need to know the kinds of insurance coverage you need as well as those policies that are available in the market and how they hold up against each other.

This process of evaluating your boat insurance needs, the available policies, the features offered by each and comparing coverage offered by your company and that offered by other firms, is the best way to ensure you are on the right path to finding the best option for your boat insurance. Do not shy away from asking questions – after all, it’s your money that is funding the policy; also remember to go by the manner in which the insurance company agent handles claim and treats customers to know how you will be treated in future.

You may want to reconsider your present choice of boat insurance company in lieu of the above factors once you get to evaluating them closely.

Allow the boat insurance company a fair amount of time (say, a year or so) to prove themselves worthy of the premium you pay them and see if they are sufficiently familiar with various aspects of your boat and have given satisfactory customer service responses to your queries put forth during this time; quick, valuable and informed responses from the agents is a way to determine their sincerity and the company’s ethical values, so pick wisely.

Another popular way to pick a boat insurance company that many boat owners follow is to compare different quotations given on the premium value and come up with the one that offers a low, but adequate coverage of upkeep, transporting, servicing, change of parts, accidentals, etc. At times, a good agent will help you analyze all these elements of a valuable policy in a day’s times, so do consult your chosen one soon.

Experts are quick to add though, that going on cost of the policy alone is not enough to judge its worth by, so checking for level of coverage offered by different companies after a year is over, may be a good idea to switch to a reduced premium policy after consulting an agent at the insurance company. Owners typically consider switching insurance companies when a claim filed by them has been poorly handled it poorly or if they’ve been diddled out of good money with a worthless policy or instances of the company raising the amount of premium the customer pays.

Slackness on part of the agent in not completing the paperwork in a timely manner, delaying a customer’s information request or giving half-baked information are all signs of poor customer service and a good enough reason to encourage a policy holder to look elsewhere for their boat insurance company needs. Friends and family members who are boat-owners too, are usually good guides and minimize the time you’d otherwise spend in scouting a reliable boat insurance company of repute, so ask around.

The ocean air, the constant breeze and the sun glowing down on you are some of the reasons why you might take a look at boating as a hobby.

A vessel afloat over millions of gallons of water may not frighten many people, but it probably does frighten a few. Being scared usually has something to do with what size of boat you are on, but most of the time it’s the water itself that concerns people. The fear of just floating on the water, whether it is in or out of a boat, is enough to make people say no thanks to boating. Taking a look at different options when deciding whether or not boating is for you would be a good place to start.

First things first. Are you afraid of the water? If the answer is yes, then boating may not be the right fit for you. You may have to look at why you have this fear. Is it fear of drowning, being alone on a boat or being lost at sea? You can help to eliminate this version of the phobia by having someone else go with you. Sometimes the knowledge that you are not alone out there helps to take some of that anxiety away. If something happens to you, they can always help you or get help from someone else.

If this fear exists because you don’t know how to swim, then perhaps swimming lessons might do the trick. You could take private lessons, take lessons at a health club or at the “Y.” A friend who is an avid swimmer can even teach you. Basically, if you learn how to keep your body afloat, you can alleviate much of your fear of boating.

A life jacket is a requirement to have on a boat, no matter what type of boat it is. Whichever type of boat you decide to be on, keep in mind that the life jacket is there to help you. Put it on and get familiar with it. Learn how to adjust the jacket properly and make sure it fits correctly. You don’t have to put it on right away. You can wait, but if you are further out from shore and get nervous, then put it on.

Some questions you may ask yourself are, “What type of boat would I like to be on?” “Do I want to own one or rent one?” When getting into boating, you have a few options, not unlike many other hobbies. There are some important things to consider. If you want to own a boat, be prepared to look into the maintenance of the vessel. Also, storage would be an area to look at if you don’t have the room for it where you live. Renting a boat could be a good option if you don’t have time, patience or knowledge to take care of the boat yourself.

A sail boat is relaxing, especially if you’re not in a rush to go out and come back the same day. You would have to watch the weather to make sure it’s a good day to sail. An askew wind or rough waters can take you far from your mark. A motor boat is a little noisier getting you there, but can get you there in less time. It gives you more time to enjoy your destination.

Once you get where you’re going, drop anchor and relax. Don’t worry about all the technical terms for the boat or what you’re doing with it. If learning is what you want, you’ll learn all of it soon enough. As a novice at boating, you will take the opportunity to learn as much as you can with your new venture and find that it can be fun and very relaxing in the end. So enjoy the ocean air, the water, the sun on your face and your book and welcome to the world of boating.

Bluefish

Bluefish are almost everywhere in the state, along the beaches, open ocean, bays and tidal rivers. Many party boats fish for them exclusively and will run trips during the day and night. They can run as small as 1-2 lb (Cocktails) or close to 20 lb. They are the most prolific fish in the area and for that reason are the most popular species to fish for. If you want to catch lots of fish Blues provide the best opportunity. It is not uncommon for you to catch 20+ fish per person.

Blues are noted for their great fight and fierce appetites. When a blitz occurs they will hit almost anything. Make sure to use a heavy mono or wire leader. These fish have sharp teeth that will make short order of 10 – 15 lb mono or your hand. Watch yourself when getting the hook out of the fish. It’s best to use pliers or some type of hook remover.

Time of Year:

Blues usually arrive in late spring and will stay around well into October. Most of the larger fish are caught in the fall.

How To Catch Them:

• Diving birds are a sure sign there are Bluefish in the area. Cast a diamond jig or plug into a pack of working birds and your almost sure to get a Bluefish.
• Chumming from an anchored boat is the most popular way to fish for Blues. Pay out Bunker chum to attract fish while dropping back pieces of cut bunker on your hook.
• Trolling tubes, jigs, Bunker spoons, plugs or umbrella rigs work great. This method is highly effective for locating fish. Some sharpies will troll to locate the fish and then anchor or drift in the area with bait. In order to keep your trolling lures down at the right depth it is usually necessary to troll with heavy drail sinkers or wire line. Wire line trolling is the most effective. Some sharpies also use down riggers.
• Jigging for blues works well when there is a large body of fish concentrated in an area. Diamond jigs tipped with surgical tubes are dropped to the bottom and reeled up quickly. They can sometimes be bounced off the bottom as well. Best thing to do is try and find out at what depth they are picking up the jigs and concentrate your jigging there. Many times larger fish will be underneath the smaller ones or at the edge of the school. When approaching a school of breaking fish in a boat slow down and let you boat drift into the school with the engine off. Running over the fish under power will send the fish down and break up the schools of bait they are foraging on.

Best Places To Catch Them:

NJ Party boats fishing for bluefish are very popular all along the coast. From north to south the most popular areas are Atlantic Highlands, Shark River/Belmar, Brielle & Point Pleasent, Barnegat Light and Cape May. If you have your own boat popular areas are as follows:

• Sandy Hook: 17 Fathoms
• Schrewsbury Rocks, Mud Hole
• Barnegat Light: Barnegat Lumps

Some Fishing Tips:

• Use fresh rather then frozen Bunker if you can get it.
• When chumming be sure not to be too generous or skimpy with the chum. It’s a good idea to release chum at 2 to 3 minute intervals to keep a consistent chum slick and hold fish. Too much chum and the fish will hang back for the easy meal and not bother to move up into the slick for your baits. Too little chum and your not going to hold or attract fish.
• Trolling speed is not too critical for bluefish. Between 2.5 and 4 knots is good although they will also hit at Tuna Trolling speeds of up to 6 knots. When trolling bunker spoons slow it down until you see your pole pulsing in an erratic side to side and bobbing motion. When trolling other lures like tubes, jigs, and umbrella rigs try and stay close to the bottom without hanging up. Pay line out until you feel contact with the bottom and then reel in just enough line to keep your lure from hanging bottom. If you have a fish finder and can determine a consistent depth where your marking fish try and keep the lures at that depth. A usual rule of thumb for wire line is 10 feet of line usually equates to 1 foot of depth. As an example you would let out 90 feet of wire line if you want your lures to run at 9 feet. Every once and a while take the boat out of gear and let the lures free fall then engage the engine again. This change in motion is often times enough to entice a fish to strike.
• Always try and keep the boat in gear when fighting a fish. This allows you to keep constant pressure on the fish and results in less thrown hooks .
• When party boat fishing try to stay on the side where the chum is drifting. The trick is to use just enough weight to keep your hooked bait floating along with the chum/chunks. Manually pay out line until you feel a hit. If you run out of line or hit bottom. Then reel up and do it again. Be careful to pay attention to how much line is paid out when you catch a fish so you can let the same amount of line out the next time. These fish will usually suspend at a certain depth and stay there.
• When fishing from shore with bait it’s best to use a float rig. It keeps the bait off the bottom and away from crabs. You can purchase one from almost any tackle store.