NJ Bottom fishing and offshore reports

[vpass]

Hey Dark, if you go let me know I'll make a trip with you.

[bababooey]

From Ristori's column



Capt. Jimmy Elliott of Miss Belmar Princess has wrapped up his winter mackerel season after having no more than a pick of small mackerel Saturday in the Mud Hole and even all the way out to the Glory Hole. He read some fish, but feels they're turned off in very cold waters -- and that's not likely to change for a long time.

[mick2360]

Hey Mick good to hear from ya!

I can do 1 trip with the limited budget I have. I was thinking about a trip about the 3rd week of Feb, providing the slobs are being caught by then.

Big John told me the IC trips are $95. That's not bad considering some other boats are charging $135 - $150.
I would be up for an IC trip if anyone else is interested, end of Feb.

Dark, Third week sounds about right for me. You can bunk at the house on the NY/NJ border. My wife would probably be interested in meeting another of my fishing buddies.....from time to time she asks me; "how's that guy Rich?"

Let's do it.

[DarkSkies]

I was reading some of the Block Island cod reports on another site the other day.

One report interested me, because there were some seasoned members on there talking honestly about the bite.

They were talking about some boats crushing them, and others catching only a few shorts. Some of the boats who use a lot of fresh clams for chum were mentioned.

Others, who were noted as being a bit stingy with their clams, were also mentioned. I believe some of those were paid advertisers of the site. I don't think that's a bad thing, just guys being honest about their experiences. The thread generated a lot of interest. Generally, each report is separate on that site, so if you get 10 replies, that's a good response.

This thread was reading had a lot of interest and commentary. All of it seemed respectful. I didn't see one post that seemed mean or slanderous of a captain or a boat.It was over 2 pages long.

I tuned in this morning, to check the latest, and the whole thread was gone. They didn't just moderate a few posts, they deleted the whole freaking thread. No arguments, fights, or untrue accusations which soometimes require moderation.

So I'm left with the conclusion that the moderators felt this thread was not complimentary to some of the paid advertisers, and simply wiped the whole thread out of existence.

That's kind of sad. The guys who tune in there to read the reports may not be aware of that. They may read the reports that are left, and think the cod fishing in the Montauk to RI area is on fire.

And it's not.

I just wanted to make a note of that. If whole reports can be removed based on the whim of moderators, what does that say about the integrity of the site? Is it report driven, or advertiser and revenue driven?? And I understand the need to pay the bills on a site...but should that need come before the integrity of honest reports?

Don't believe every report as gospel, people.

I know people who fish up there regularly. Some of them are skilled fishermen, and they have all had bad days. There's nothing wrong with that. We all strike out at one time or another.

But to sweep honest discussions about the quality of the fishing under the rug, just to keep a steady stream of guys going up there?

I guess they're thankful many guys don't pay close attention to all the reports, or have as good a memory as I do.

[DarkSkies]

Friends have been making the trips regularly. Sometimes they do well, sometimes poorly. Hey, that's fishin!

Some tips for possible better trips:

1. Weekdays are usually better. Rumors of a hot bite, even if untrue, will rail the boats on the weekends. This crowded fishing sometimes results in more problems and tangled fishing.

2. Limited trips - some Capts offer a stated limit of fares they will allow on the boat, for a slightly higher price. That my be a choice for some people on the days that tend to be most crowded.

3. Chum is key....stick with a boat known to use fresh clams, and a lot of chum. These trips ain't cheap, guys. $95-150. Choose your boat wisely.

4. Don't believe the hype - right now codfishing is good, but IMO it hasn't yet approached the legendary catches of the last 2 years since it was opened again. There are a lot of shorts caught. The big slobs aren't yet in the mix on a regular basis. Guys who are diligent and serious about it will usually get their limit. There are quite a few days even the best guys will do poorly, and only a small # of boats will be the heroes of the day.

This to me, says, that after only 2 years, there are perhaps less cod than was originally estimated.
I don't have the answers, and anyone else with a different opinion is welcome to weigh in.


5. Fish the snotty days... Some people I know feel that they have had their best days up there when the seas are at their worst, and the truly calm "bluebird days" have sucked so far in terms of a good bite. Anyone who had different experience than that, feel free to comment.


6. Go and have fun! ....I'm not trying to be a downer about these trips. I just wish people would be more honest about them,, and the reality of good days vs the days that aren't that great. I understand Capts hyping the bite, they need people to come up and fish. Honestly, cod is the best game in town during the cold winter.
So, I hope people can appreciate that I'm just trying to be honest here, and want people to go out and catch em up!




Anyone with any other tips to make a successful cod trip, feel free to post up.







*****************
Stripers and Anglers cod trip to Rhode Island-
Tentative trip details -
I realize the biggest thing is coordinating to everyone's schedule. We're just gonna pick a weekend and go for it. Anyone who can't make it, that's OK, ya can catch us on the next trip.

-4th week of Feb, (Feb 26 or 27) hoping for a slightly unstable weather pattern (snotty seas)
- This week is tentative depending on the bite, but it's about time to nail something down.
- Day will be either Sat or Sun
- Those from NJ, we'll be leaving from NJ around 8pm. The drive to Rhody is about 4 hours. I think the boat leaves at 3am, so we want to get there early.
- Boat will be the Island Current, now out of Snug Harbor, RI
- Fare will be $95, I believe, plus tip for the mates.
- Needed: one conventional setup, spooled with 30-40#test, extra rigs, different sinklers, and different weight jigs
- xtra clothes, extra layers, thin fishing gloves
- coooler for cod, and food
- I have space for 2 extra guys in my car, but only one 100qt cooler.
- We'll meet up at a rest area on the Parkway for the initial staging area.
- We'll have to find some way to meet up with Mick and any guys further N, or we can all just meet at the boat. Whatever works for ya's, I'm easy.

Any more questions, feel free to PM or call me anytime.

[nitestrikes]

This thread was reading had a lot of interest and commentary. All of it seemed respectful. I didn't see one post that seemed mean or slanderous of a captain or a boat.It was over 2 pages long.

I tuned in this morning, to check the latest, and the whole thread was gone. They didn't just moderate a few posts, they deleted the whole freaking thread. No arguments, fights, or untrue accusations which soometimes require moderation.

So I'm left with the conclusion that the moderators felt this thread was not complimentary to some of the paid advertisers, and simply wiped the whole thread out of existence.

That's kind of sad. The guys who tune in there to read the reports may not be aware of that. They may read the reports that are left, and think the cod fishing in the Montauk to RI area is on fire.

And it's not.

I just wanted to make a note of that. If whole reports can be removed based on the whim of moderators, what does that say about the integrity of the site? Is it report driven, or advertiser and revenue driven?? And I understand the need to pay the bills on a site...but should that need come before the integrity of honest reports?

Don't believe every report as gospel, people.

I know people who fish up there regularly. Some of them are skilled fishermen, and they have all had bad days. There's nothing wrong with that. We all strike out at one time or another.

But to sweep honest discussions about the quality of the fishing under the rug, just to keep a steady stream of guys going up there?

I guess they're thankful many guys don't pay close attention to all the reports, or have as good a memory as I do.

I was reading that thread too, Dark, and today it's gone. Northeast Nazis, I call them. You can't say one thing against an advertiser there. And you're right, nothing in that thread was a mailicious slam of any boat on that board, it was all honest opinions. Nazis.

[J Barbosa]

Fished on Saturday had 2 keeper fluke and 2 shorts before switching over to porgies. We managed 8 nice keepers before running out of bait.

Sunday we covered many miles of water to find 5 short fluke. Almost happy to see Fluke 2015 come to a close; what a terrible year for most.

Monday we went 60 miles offshore in a friend's boat. We found plenty of fish about 10 miles away from the fleet. Ended up with a 5 man limit of yellowfin and all the skippies you could want. The albies were mixed in but nowhere near as thick as last time. Jigs and chunks both working equally well.

[surferman]

Wow that's a very nice haul you managed there.
what about those skipjacks do they taste like other tuna and how do you prepare them? Thanks

[VSdreams]

Sashimi galore- nice!!!!