MEAT MEN of New Jersey

[finchaser]

Grouper will be on the menu in many restaurants this weekend to feed the benny's. not saying it will be at theirs

[clamchucker]

This may be hard to even comprehend but bare with me. We landed 5 bass over 50 pounds, 4 bass over 40 pounds, and too many 30 pounders to even count... Matt landed 4 of the 50 pounders and I GOT MINE !!!!! My first bass over 50 pounds and i will never forget it.

Matt did the right thing and released all of his 40's and 50's. Wow it feels awesome to say that. I released all of my fish over 28 pounds including a 40 pounder. I caught my first 40 pounder and my first 50 pounder on the same day. Will never forget this day as long as i live. I did keep my 50 pounder so that i could have it skin mounted on my wall. I made a promise to myself that i would never kill a big one like that again. Watching those big girls swim away is the best feeling ever.

hookset I want to thank you for starting this and raising the issue of all the folks who keep bonus limits and big fish out there. When that young man johnny bucktails was killing fish after fish with 3 fish limits every time you and the other folks called him out on it here. He came to reply and was so arrogant and smart mouthed I was feeling disgusted about the young anglers and the fate of our fishing.
Your shaming and the disapproval of the folks here must have had a lasting effect on this young man. Now he is swearing that he will not do it again and release his big fish.
For a person to make a 180 turn around he could have not done this by himself. I really feel it was the public chastising he was getting here that convinced him to change his ways. I lived through the last moratorium and I don't want to see it again. Thank you hookset for standing up to the criticism and the harsh insults. You have really done a good thing here. I don't know how old you are but you are certainly younger than me. Keep up the good work. Maybe now some of the charter captains who advertise bonus limits will see the error of their ways and start taking 2 fish instead of 3 per man. Good job.

[surferman]

Great news clamchucker. Does anyone know who this guy Sean Smida is? Every time out there it seems like he is weighing every fish he catches. How many 30 pounders fill your freezer?


Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Smida, Sean

Bass

41″

24.6lbs

Snag & Drop

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Sean Smida

Bass

45″

37.15lbs

Snag & Drop

Look at these other guys. These 2 Tomenski guys took 94 pounds of bass home from one day of fishing. If that doesn't qualify them as meat men I don't know what does.
Friday, May 23, 2014

Tomenski, Travis	Bass	46″	34lbs	Bunker
Tomenski, Travis	Bass	45″	32.35lbs	Bunker
Tomenski, Tommy	Bass	42″	28.05lbs	Bunker Today he weighed in almost 60 lbs of bass. If you catch and keep all those bass what the heck are you doing with them. Are you selling them? Saturday, May 24, 2014 Tommy Tomenski Bass 44.5″ 29.7lbs Bunker Tommy Tomenski Bass 44″ 30.15lbs Bunker This was all posted on the Grumpys web site.

[surferman]

Another dude always weighing in big fish. Does anyone know who this guy sloma is?

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Sloma

Bass

45″

30.15lbs

Snag & Drop Friday, May 23, 2014 Sloma Bass 45″ 36lbs Bunker

[CharlieTuna]

I lived in Jersey when fishing was bad. We have since moved but I remember how bad it was. The fact that some can't recognize the parallels between then and now is troublesome. This is probably one of the most pro-active threads I have read on any of the internet sites. Thank you hookset. I don't have much to contribute but I do check this thread regularly. Outstanding job you are doing here. Keep it up.

[finchaser]

50 Pounders !!! Striper Report - Johnny Bucktails

---

Feels good to say that. Best day of fishing i have ever had in my life. Matt who was on board with us agrees that it was the best day he has ever had. Hands are still shaking as i type this. Left the dock at 7am with matt and the lip. Made bait in one throw and we were on our way. Set up on the first drift and nailed a 32 pounder right off the bat. Made a few more short drifts in the area with nothing but bluefish. Decided to make a move and it turned out to be the best decision ever. Videos are uploading as we speak. This may be hard to even comprehend but bare with me. We landed 5 bass over 50 pounds, 4 bass over 40 pounds, and too many 30 pounders to even count... Matt landed 4 of the 50 pounders and I GOT MINE !!!!! My first bass over 50 pounds and i will never forget it. Have everything on video. Matt did the right thing and released all of his 40's and 50's. Wow it feels awesome to say that. I released all of my fish over 28 pounds including a 40 pounder. I caught my first 40 pounder and my first 50 pounder on the same day. Will never forget this day as long as i live. I did keep my 50 pounder so that i could have it skin mounted on my wall. I made a promise to myself that i would never kill a big one like that again. Watching those big girls swim away is the best feeling ever. Especially when the whole thing is on video ! My dad's big fish for the day went 33 pounds. The big fish are here for sure. My fish was officially weighed at 51.2. In the end, hard work and doing your homework pays off.

Videos will be posted here soon. Check back

Tight lines- Johnny Bucktails

My 50:
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__________________
Specializing in raritan bay / Sandy Hook striped bass and fluke fishing since birth

Aka: Johnny Bucktails

To me his statement means he will release all fish over 50 so I guess everything under 50 dies

[plugcrazy]

Hey check this out grumpys posted the weigh ins for today and so far that lagrossa guy did one weigh in
38 lbs does this guy have a commercial freezer or what?
www.grumpystackle.com

Weigh-Ins

Sunday, May 25, 2014
Angler	Species	Length	Weight	Bait
Mike Riela	Bass	44″	31.15lbs	Plug
Joe Riela	Bass	40.5″	25.65lbs	Plug
Jack Riela	Bass	46″	38.85lbs	Plug
Tom Hopkins	Bluefish	22″	2.85lbs	Grumpy Bunker
Tom Hopkins	Bluefish	28″	7.15lbs	Grumpy Bunker
Bryan Medhaug	Bass	31.5″	10.4lbs	Clams
Phil Lagrossa	Bass	47″	38.85lbs	Swimmer

[buckethead]

My 50:
[/URL]



__________________
To me his statement means he will release all fish over 50 so I guess everything under 50 dies

I have seen a lot of big fish in my time. Remember when they used to bring them in at the old Giglio's and the salts there would guesstimate before they were put on a scale, usually being very close to the actual weight. Its my opinion that the fish he caught is a great catch. I hope no one thinks I am hating on the kid. A 50 by anyone deserves praise. What puzzles me is how many of the experienced fishermen out there looked at the video and don't question his claims that the others were 40's and 50's. When you are talking about a spawned out fish that is 48", that fish is in the 35-40 pound class unless it starts eating bunker again.
A comment by Dave S. I remember Dave from when the highlands bridge used to be the place to catch big fish in Monmouth county. He caught plenty of 40 and mid 40 lb bass from that bridge. I agree with Dave's statement:

If those fish are 40's and 50's, I have a 14 inch penis.

First fish he holds up is maybe at best 30#

Second fish that he says is "35 0r 36" is around 25 -27 pounds

Third fish thats one f their "other 40 pounders" is about 29-31 pounds at most

I could go on and on, but either these guys are trolling, no pun intended, or they got one broken *** Boga Grip.

[buckethead]

There was also another statement made by a guy who has a lot of experience with big fish. Why are these 2 fellas the only ones to raise the issue of exaggerated estimated weights of the fish they released? Again I don't want to rain on this kid's parade, but a 50 is a 50. A 40 is a 40. A 35 lb fish is not a 40 no matter how much you wish it was. Congrats to the kid and may be learn from this. This is the statement. I agree with it 100%.

Congrats on what looked to be a super fun day of fishing for you and your friends.
some very nice bass caught.

BUT lets also keep it real, looking at the pics which can be deceiving I didn't think any of the pics showed a LEGIT 50, as the MASS required and the head size of the bass just don't show.'after watching the video I would be pretty safe to bet they aren't close to 5o's being let go.
and here's why.

Unless Matt is 7 foot tall I would expect his Belly button ( his measuring spot ) would not be over 40-42 inches from the boat deck,Im 6'3 and mine is 42" . that is NOW WHERE close to what it takes even an unspawned bass to hit the 50 mark.

The pics you show appear to be hudson fish which don't the wide girth of the Chessy bass.
For those fish Normally to hit the 50 mark they are 50" Plus
Chessy fish which are girthier take a little less at around 47"

50 pound fish also aren't held out at arms length as they just want to roll over due to their weight displacement. while many guys can hold a forty that way, I haven't seen 1 yet do that with a 50 plus

they just get very hard to hold. Thats why most pics of big fish don't look as big as they were in person because the pics are usually cradling the fish .


all bass over 30 pounds have giant heads on them and would allow a fish to easily go down to the gullet without touching the sides.

would say you need to get your boga calibrated.


.

what else I would say is this.

While I was very glad to see you released a bunch of nice bass, watching the video in the manner they were handled was tough to watch .
throwing them around with a bogs on their lip like that is really easy to destroy their jaws.
and only one of those fish really took off as they should, bopping them on the head making them dive too soon just makes the go down , many times to just float up later on .


take the time to swim them or use the SW wash down until they really bite down and also want to swim on their own .
when they go down laying on their side, they are not revived enough to have as good a chance as possible to survive.

They should be swimming and moving their tails on their own.

Hope to see you releasing more big ones again !!


just feel the pics, and especially the video doesn't back it,

Also after reading all the posts of lets hear what the nay Sayers say now ???
I feel the proofs don't add up.

Just my 2 Cents,
Seen a few good ones to know the difference, and seen enough even high forties to know they all Look huge


Main reason I did post was because IMO those great fish need to be handled with a little more care if being released so they truelly have the best chance of recovery

[dogfish]

I saw the release video on youtube. Agree with hammer4reel. Some of those fish they released didn't make it.

[J Barbosa]

Meat men...the only reason fish were released is because they were probably at their limit.

In the video you can see the cooler is stuffed. At 5:25 in the video you can clearly see that they are even shoving bass in their live well.

If your going to make a video stating your not a meat man maybe you should hide all the dead bass first. Those Parker's have huge fish boxes in the back near those engines...I would love to have seen what was in their fish box.

Five 50 pounders? Haha I have a 16" ****.

80lb boga? Must be made by the Chinese because the eastern boga company only makes 15, 30, and 60lb models; explains why they are so off on the weights.

[finchaser]

Got other report for you guys. Headed out around 7am with Matt and the Lip ONCE AGAIN !! Made our bait in one throw and we were off. Right back to where we had the SLOBS from two days ago. Right off the bat we were greeted with 25-40 pound fish blowing up on our baits. On the 3rd drift Matt released the big fish of the day that was just over 40 pounds. He released all of his 8 big bass. I released 2 30 pound fish and kept one 38 pounder that unfortunately swallowed the hook. Also kept 3 smaller fish for the table for the lip's bday tomorrow. The almighty Lip only caught one bass today... unlike him. I think he is still in shock from the 50's. I gave the 38 lber to a local tackle shop owner who has become a good friend of mine. He weighed it on his scale. I would post picture but it may be against forum rules because he is not sponsored. The best part about today, and i hate to jinx myself, but no bluefish... thank god ! Sorry for lack of photos
tight lines - Johnny Bucktails

[hookset]

Meat men...the only reason fish were released is because they were probably at their limit.

In the video you can see the cooler is stuffed. At 5:25 in the video you can clearly see that they are even shoving bass in their live well.

80lb boga? Must be made by the Chinese because the eastern boga company only makes 15, 30, and 60lb models; explains why they are so off on the weights.

Capt of a parker, all quality gear in the video, and they are using a Chinese made boga. It figures. That's the only way those 30 pound fish could be "multiple 40's!!!!!" Rofl You are the only one on the internet who noticed that JB - good catch. Thanks for the kind words guys. Its simple math. Keep killing the big girls with multiple bonus tags and there will be none left.

[clamchucker]

Hey check this out grumpys posted the weigh ins for today and so far that lagrossa guy did one weigh in
38 lbs does this guy have a commercial freezer or what?
www.grumpystackle.com

Weigh-Ins

Sunday, May 25, 2014
Angler	Species	Length	Weight	Bait
Mike Riela	Bass	44″	31.15lbs	Plug
Joe Riela	Bass	40.5″	25.65lbs	Plug
Jack Riela	Bass	46″	38.85lbs	Plug
Tom Hopkins	Bluefish	22″	2.85lbs	Grumpy Bunker
Tom Hopkins	Bluefish	28″	7.15lbs	Grumpy Bunker
Bryan Medhaug	Bass	31.5″	10.4lbs	Clams
Phil Lagrossa	Bass	47″	38.85lbs	Swimmer

plug crazy I have seen that phil lagrossa post on a leaderboard multiple times. I believe he is a member of one of the local fishing clubs and it seems they all post big fish around when the tourney dates are scheduled. It is a shame that some of these clubs are not willing to set the example by having catch and release tournaments. Berkeley striper club is having one such tournament that begins today.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ing-Tournament

[storminsteve]

Less than a week later weighing in another one. From Grumpys.com. Wow what a great bunker chunker.

Friday, May 30, 2014
Angler	Species	Length	Weight	Bait
Phil Lagrossa	Bass	47″	42.95lbs	Snag & Drop

[robmedina]

so my buddy sends me a picture yesterday of a 40# bass. I thought he caught it. I know he likes to eat.....most things he catches, including a cow nose ray he caught Friday night. Anyway- turns out a friend of his caught it but "doesn't eat fish". Why the F kill the fish than? What is wrong with these people? If you do not "like to eat" fish then simply return it back into the water? Are people's egos that big that they need to parade a dead bass around to show off? in my opinion, these people are not anglers.

[Monty]

IMO the bass are in big trouble and everytime a school pops up on a pod more and more are eliminated especially by 2 charter boats up north that find it necessary to post on 4 sights everyday it's sad. Bright side is Raritan bay is emptying out and most of the meatmen up there will give up now that they'll have to work hard for them .

Not sure if you are referencing Fisher Price IV, Capt Derek Bielitz who posted here last year.
"I will also be the first person to say that there are not as many bass around as in recent years."
"I do support catch and release and i can tell you i had a trip the other day where we landed 50 or 52 bass all day and only kept one fish for the table cause it was gut hooked and bleeding out."

Many of his posts titles include "limits ++"

Its one thing to be a meat man, its another to talk Striper conservation one day and advertise "limits ++" the next day.

[hookset]

Not sure if you are referencing Fisher Price IV, Capt Derek Bielitz who posted here last year.
Many of his posts titles include "limits ++"

Its one thing to be a meat man, its another to talk Striper conservation one day and advertise "limits ++" the next day.

That does seem to be a little phony baloney. You say one thing and do another what does that make you? and he usually advertises ++ limits as well. With am and pm trips using bonus limits these charter boats can bring home 30 bass a day each, easily. Do the math, thats about 500 a month if they are fully booked and accounting for bad days.

The latest trip-
Fisher Price IV 6/8 AM/PM Striper Limits ++
AM-Total was 19 keepers to 32 lbs.
PM- In about three hours the crew managed to land a total of 18 keepers to Phil's 38 pound fish.

Here is another one- Down Deep out of keyport
Down Deep -6/8 Still on the Big girls...
Down Deep - 6/8 PM Livelining Insanity
Needless to say we beat on them, with fish from 15 - 38 lbs. Just a sight to truly remember. GET OUT NOW !

[finchaser]

Lets not forget Down Deep

[hookset]

finchaser I did mention him above. That photo is from his latest trip. Get this - for his most recent charter he was posting in real time how they were slaughtering the bass. He posted on 4 different websites. On the bassbarn he was placing the same posts in 2 separate forums. At some point you are just overexposing yourself. Just because your a site sponsor it gets tired when you post in all the different forums all the time. One of the most notorious meat men out there. When the bass are all dead what will he advertise for? my .02