Scottsbt.com: Fishing Report

Scott's Daily Fishing Reports April 2001

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Monday, April 30, 2001 /\/\/\ 6:55pm

It's the last post for April, and I have to think fishing has gone out with a bang. Great Bay fishing is ON! There are bluefish in large quantities, 2 pounders. There are weakfish smaller numbers, but large in size 3-6 pounds, some rumors larger, but those 9 pounders shrink to 6 when they get on a scale. Stripers, mostly schoolies and slot fish, but throw a 34" striper caught off the banks at the Old Coast Guard Station at 12 pounds ain't half bad =).
Best overall action is bait fishing or casting bluefish. This morning the action was along the West bank of the Great Bay from Oyster Creek to the light pole on Oyster Bed Point island in the mouth of the Mullica River. Plenty of blues reported in the area of 139 too, but it is a matter of finding working birds to help point you to the fish.
A good pod of boats are making up in the area of the 126 marker, which is between the fish factory and the Coast Guard Station. I haven't a clue what they are catching in that area. Whoever they are, they are keeping it awful quiet. Come on! Someone spill the beans, are those weakfish working on the mussel beds down there or what? I know that anglers are catching weakies from the bank in Little Sheepshead Creek at dusk, which is right around the corner from that area.
Remember to dress warm, the wind tends to make a warm day cold when exposed along the banks -- Especially, after the sun sets.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

4/29:" Update on today's fishing---fished the river off GP, Grassy Channel and the inlet. Net result---- two small blues on mackerel in the river and two of the same trolling right near Little Beach toward the back of inlet on a small Clark Spoon and a small Rebel.
Take care and keep smiling!
" ~Referee

4/29:" Hi Scott/Mo/Russ, Fished near #139 Sunday and caught a real nice fluke. Broke my heart too when I threw it back in! It *would* have tasted sooooo good. Damn the people who decide these matters for screwing me and every other Great Bay fishermen this fluke season. Caught a buncha 1 to 3 lb. weakies in the mouth of the Mullica on squid strips and tiny killies. " ~"Fishiesue"

4/29/01:" Fished on the "Weather or Not" today. We were going to wreck fish but changed our minds after running out to the Flour in over 3 to 5' seas and a relentless north wind. This is what happens when you listen to the weatherman. Felt just like late November again. The trip back to AC inlet wasn't as bad with the wind at our backs and it was much warmer when we turned up into intercostal. We made a few drifts at the 127 marker area and picked blue fish, a couple of winter flounder(released), and 4 Fluke(released) that would have all been keepers in two weeks. All fish caught on bucktails and mackerel. We should have tried the inter coastal first, it saved the day. " ~Dave Newman

Sunday, April 29, 2001 /\/\/\ 3:40pm

You should have been here yesterday, I heard on the radio several times today. There was intermittent action on the Great Bay down around the 139 marker, but pods of blues under working birds were a little hard to locate. Even though, angers were able to pick a catch of fish to make it an alright fishing day.
Land based anglers will be glad to know that the dusk weakfish fishery at the fifth bridge off of Great Bay Blvd has started up with some regularity again this Spring. Fin-s fish lures are the ticket, but I can't say what the magic color is at the moment. Although, we sold out of the bubble gum ice that was so hot last year. More of those should be in by Wednesday afternoon.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

4/28/01:" The Blues were there yesterday in the Great Bay. We caught 9 late in the day at low tide by the old stink house. The largest weighing in at 6 pounds.It was a nice way to start off the season. Thanks for the report Walt. " ~Bill Renner

Saturday, April 28, 2001 /\/\/\ 5:55pm

I really am not sure how to write this report. Fishing in Great Bay is on. We have fluke, weakfish, bluefish and stripers. Sometimes anglers catch a whole lot of fish while others just can't seem to locate a fish. I guess it is all about being in the right place at the right time. The mouth of the Mullica River area including in front of the Mystic Island beach turns out to be the best overall location for weakfish, bluefish and stripers. Best action has been occuring just after dark. The West end of Grassy Channel and the area near the 139 marker in the Inland Waterway, usually earlier in the morning has been the most talked about area for a few weakies and a lot of bluefish and enough nice fluke to make anyone crazy while releasing them until the fluke season opens on May 12.
Baits needed are mackerel and bloodworms. Bluefish and weakfish are both taking the mackerel while stripers and weakies love bloodworms.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

4/28:" Scott and Mo;
I caught the first king of the year today at the Ocean City Fishing Club- 13 1/2 in.-15 1/2 Oz. Not big but the first of the year around here- same date as last year. The kings have arrived Joe Evans and Bill Renner (customers of yours and members of our pier- they check your daily reports every day like myself). " ~Walt Hays

04/27/01:" Went out about two hours before high tide. No action till last half hour before high about 11:30am. I was on my friends boat JERSEA GIRL. We started getting hits on clam, we were also using herring chunks. As luck would have it I caught the first flatty of the year about 21"er on herring, a throw back till May 12th!!! Real nice fish he would have made a good meal. My friend hooked a striper 6lbs. 26"er, then I caught a 22" though back, then finish the day with a 27"er 71/2lbs. Not bad for a couple of hours. We were out by the parkway bridge in Somers Point. Good luck and good fishing " ~Kookieman

Friday, April 27, 2001 /\/\/\ 7:10pm

There are plenty of stripers still in the Great Bay. Graveling Point and Pebble beach seem to produce stripers in the morning and after 9:00 at night. At least that is the way it was this week. The fish size range has shrunk a little from the earlier season bass and are now mostly in the 18 to 26" range. Wednesday evening was action that was so good that it could be considered a blitz; again, mostly shorts though, but some real fun fishing. Bloodworm supply is pretty good and we have quite a few large worms still in stock too.
Boaters are working the mouth of the Mullica River area for both stripers and bluefish. It is bait like worms for the bass and mackerel for the blues that is taking fish on this side of the bay. Fishing near 139 marker in the inter coastal waterway on the South side of Great Bay, anglers caught weakfish, fluke and bluefish. Bluefish were caught by trolling, casting and retrieving and bait fishing. With the water still being cool, anglers who were bait fishing with mackerel strips caught more blues. Some anglers practiced catch and release today with fluke, because that was the fish they were catching the most. Every once in awhile, anglers will pick up a weakfish on bucktails and Fin-s lures.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

4/26:" Hi Scott, I could not fish off shore today because of the N. E. wind 25 kts +. So I fished the I.C.W. behind A.C., N.J. . We had a nice catch of small blue fish on mackerel srips. Much better than going home with nothing. " ~Capt. Joel, www.Evelynanncharters.com

Thursday, April 26, 2001 /\/\/\ 6:40pm

Today had the illusion of actually being a nice day, but with a North East wind blowing about thirty and the temperatures not much above 45 it was actually uncomfortable to be outside. Boaters did well bay staying at the dock.
Graveling Point activity was good last night with the best action coming after 9:00pm. A batch of bass are working the point area and they are all pretty much the same size 20-25".
Herring activity continues at the Batsto Falls. I only know that evening fishing has been good, I am not sure of the quantity of herring being caught there during the day.
Sea Ya

Wednesday, April 25, 2001 /\/\/\ 6:42pm

Striper fishing remains active at Graveling Point as the water temperature hangs around the 55 degree mark. This morning, most of the stripers caught were from 16 to 22" with one bass at 29 1/2". It seems to be an incoming tide fishery this week. Anglers who fish with mackerel are picking up bluefish too. Most of the blues reported have been 1 1/2 pounds to an occasional 5 to 6 pounder. So far, no one has reported a land based catch of weakfish. A few were caught by boaters in the area in the past couple of days.
I also had a report of the first catch and release summer fluke from Graveling Point. The opening day of the fluke season is May 12; be sure to keep practicing catch and release for a little while longer.
Sorry to say, the mackerel are gone from reach of Little Egg Inlet boaters already. A Barnegat light head boat or head boats further up the coast would be the best bet if you still want to try to put some mackerel in the freezer.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

4/24:" I almost turned around, the wind was brutal. Against my better judgement I proceeded out to Absecon Bay with a half dozen live herring (Striper candy) I got from Dave over at Absecon Marina. I fished the sod banks trying to hide from the wind. My patients paid off with a 29" on the very last herring. The Bluefish did a number on the previous 5. I fished the same areas for the past couple of days with no success, thats until the live herring hit the water!!! " ~Thomas Caterina

4/24:" SCOTT, WE TROLLED UP SOME NICE BLUEFISH ON YOZURI CRYSTAL MINNOWS ALONG THE OUTSIDE EDGE OF THE POINT AND THE MOUTH OF THE MULLICA RIVER SUNDAY EVENING AFTER THEY CHOMPED OUR HERRING. THESE BLUES WERE IN THE 18 TO 20 INCH RANGE AND ARE MARAUDERS, NOT SCHOOLED UP IN ANY ONE SPOT. " ~"THE SUZIE TOO"

4/23:" Hi Scott & Mo,
Fished Grassy Channel again Sunday with no luck. Moved over to the flats in front of Big Creek and drifted some bunker strips on a spinner rig with a tiny weight and had a couple nice 4 lb. blues. " ~"Fishiesue"

4/23/01:" Hi Scott: Good day Winter Flounder fishing the Middle Grounds Monday. Both tides. Kept 23 fish. " ~Dave & Lew

4/21/01:" Scotty: Got out for the first time this season. Had a lumpy ride out past the Wreck Buoy in search of mackerel. Pods of fish started to show on the depthfinder just as the wife started turning green. Needless to say, only made a few drops before the "evil eye" did it's job and I turned back towards the inlet. Anchored up in the more tranquil waters off Graveling Point where my cousin-in-law, Ms. Sherri Hutchinson of Seaside Heights, landed a nice Bluefish about 2 pounds. A successful end to the first trip of the season. " ~Chris & Tammy Miller, Ctales II

Monday, April 23, 2001 /\/\/\ 6:56pm

Mackerel? What mackerel! Poof they are up the beach. Best bet now is to get on a Barnegat Light head boat. A few more days? How about the Briell head boat fleet! Anglers just had poor luck finding the mackerel out of Little Egg Inlet. It's over for this year.
First good shot of Herring are at the Batsto Falls this evening. Ever since a couple of Sundays ago when we heard the first report, the herring have been very scarce or non-existant. Well, tonight they are loading up on them!
"National bloodworm shortage!" Thank you Chestnut Neck boatyard for that quote. It had me laughing most of the day. There just aren't any bloodworms around this area. Fishing is so good and everyone was short their orders this week, and that made bloodworms scarce. We are making arrangements to due a pick-up on worms tomorrow afternoon. We will have worms when we open the doors again on Wednesday morning. Don't forget, we are closed on Tuesdays, so don't count on worms from us tomorrow evening.
A handful of bass were caught this morning, and some of them were caught on the salted clams. Clint Debaun brought in his 8 pound-ish 29 1/2" bass for a show and tell to prove that the clams do work. John Leonardo also weighed in an 8.1 29" bass that he caught from the boat fishing in the Graveling Point area.
Plenty of 1 1/2 to 5 pound blues caught around Great Bay this fine fishing day. Mackerel is the choice bait. Trolling the blues is a little too early, due to the cool water conditions. I guess about the first week of May, anglers will catch blues on trolled lures.
I am spreading the first RUMOR of weakfish being caught around the 139 marker this morning. It is only chatter on the VHF radio that I am basing this conclusion on, but it didn't sound like the couple of anglers were catching bluefish. They weren't telling enough info to be bluefish they were catching. Ninety eight percent of anglers are willing to share specific information about bluefish fishing, but when anglers clam up about what they are doing where, it is likely they are catching the "pretty ones"!
Ha! Just as I am writing this report and running the spell check, Jeff Driscoll calls in on the cell phone with a weakfish report off of Graveling Point in a boat. He just landed about a four pound weakie on a bloodworm. Thanks for letting us know that there are weakies in Great Bay.
Sea Ya

Sunday, April 22, 2001 /\/\/\ 3:02pm

It was a bright sunny day here in Mystic Island and the air temperature hit 80 degrees. Water temperature in the mouth of the Mullica River, Graveling Point area was around 54 degrees and the Little Egg Inlet water temperature, ocean temperature was around 45 degrees. The point I am trying to make is don't get faked out by the warm air inland, because if you don't dress for cold wetter and fish on the ocean, you are going to freeze your butt off!
Plenty of mackerel were caught again today, but anglers finished up a little to the North of Little Egg Inlet and about 7 to 9 miles off of the beach.
Graveling Point fishery was good earlier this morning, but as the bright sun of the day and the tide dropped out, so did the fishing activity. A few more bluefish were caught on mackerel, but most of the fish were still stripers.
Sea Ya

Saturday, April 21, 2001 /\/\/\ 6:20pm

Mixed reports come in every day about the activity at Graveling Point. Stripers are being caught, but not in the great numbers we had a few weeks ago. Some nice fish were weighed in this afternoon too.
Mackerel fishing is good. We are only hopefull that tomorrow brings as nice a fishing day as today was. Chatter was good on the VHF radio and the place to be was five to ten miles SE of the Little Egg inlet bell buoy. There are quite a few tinkers, so don't forget to practice a little catch and release.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

4/20:" Hi Scott
Mackerel were caught today in pretty good numbers 4 miles off Atlantic City today. About 50 to 60 deep. " ~Capt. Joel Mick
www.evelynanncharters.com

Friday, April 20, 2001 /\/\/\ 6:54pm

A little action at Graveling Point with schoolie fish in the 5 to six pound range just over the minimum size limit, keeps a lot of anglers in pursuit of the linesiders. I am still receiving quite a few reports from anglers who report multiple catch and release stripers. That is a good sign in itself.
YeHaa a mackerel report. Mackerel were spotty, but once you found a pod of fish and had them working, you were able to whoop up on 'em. Best reported action today was about nine miles South East of Little Egg Inlet. A fair amount of boats are in search of the mackerel, so keep an ear to the VHF radio to help locate the pods of fish.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

4-13-01:" Good Friday sure was a good Friday, fishing on the my boat the Sea Dog, myself and three others from the Rainbow Rod and Gun Club (Warren GrOve) out of Barnegat City 47 buoy, caught 65 flounder. " ~Robert Endrzejewski

Thursday, April 19, 2001 /\/\/\ 6:54pm

First bluefish was caught last night aprox 7:20pm by Ron Alisa and his 2 pound 5 ounce 19" bluefish was our $100.00 winner for first bluefish brought in that was caught off of Graveling Point.
Mackerel reports are slim, but here is one for you. If I understood the story right, Dorris Mae out of Barnegat Light caught mackerel aprox 7 miles off the beach and a little to the Southern of Barnegat Inlet, but finished up the day about 12 miles off of the beach North of Barnegat Inlet. That doesn't sound like good news for anglers who want to leave Little Egg Inlet this weekend to catch mackerel. I would say by Saturday, the mackerel will be out of reach to boats leaving Little Egg Inlet. Don't give hope yet, the Northern fish the Dorris Mae caught this afternoon, could be the leading edge of the mackerel run and we might just get a couple of days to get them locally before it is over. Think positive.
Striper fishing at Graveling Point is still good when it wants to be. Yesterday, on the incoming tide, action was on. But once the sun was down, it was hard pressed to get a bite.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

4/19/01:" I finally took the boat out and fished double creek. I got 1 flounder. Several other boats were picking at them for a few hours but nothing great. The good news is the herring are up here in burlington now. I hooked about 70 released all but 10, I have a huge live bait well keeping them alive. If anyone in the burlington area reads this report I suggest they try livelining the herring off the channel near burlington island. I have seen a few really nice bass taken off of the rip in front of the island. Ok gotta go. Let me know when the weaks and blues are in the bay, thanks " ~Jesse Bloomquist

Wednesday, April 18, 2001 /\/\/\ 6:44pm

The bass are becoming harder to figure out, not that I figured them out at all this Spring. Last night anglers couldn't catch a fish and this afternoon they whooped up on them. It was mostly 20-26" schoolie bass, but it was fun catchin. High hook, with only one keeper that was reported to me anyway was six. Not bad, for an afternoons fishing.
No new news on the Batsto herring, they are not in there steady yet. They are still in that come and go stage.
Anglers haven't been able to get out for mackerel either. The wind has been the culprit there. Mackerel tackle sold well today to anglers expecting calmer seas due to the hard Westerly blowing wind all day today and expected calm wind tomorrow.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

4/12/01:" Scott; I finally made it to GravEling Point on Sat. It was my first trip there. I found people to be pleasant and helpful to a 'newby'. Of course, I had clams and lures and should have had bloodworms. I should read your reports closer. It was a beautiful day for all, except the guy whose boat capsized. I'll be back. Good luck to the regulars. " ~Rob

04/16/01:" Hello, I fished the North end of LBI today with my good friend Frank. We fished 10:30am - 1pm. We pulled 7 bass from the wash. All were caught on clams. I had three and Frank had four. He also caught the only keepers (25", 31"). The bigger one weighed 9lb. 12oz. A very good day and our first trip of the year to the beach but definitely not our last. C-ya! " ~Nick C.

Monday, April 16, 2001 /\/\/\ 6:32pm

Not the nicest of days to work outside or even do projects outside, so if you can't work, it sure isn't raining too hard to go fishing! So, that's what a lot of people did today. Action at Graveling Point this morning was about six keepers on the outgoing tide. Afternoon fishing sounded better with a keeper caught by Eric Heratige at 26" 6 pounds 4 ounces. Eric and his father reported about eight fish as their afternoon catch.
Jeff German accidentally left his fly rod at Graveling Point this morning. Half way home he remembered that he forgot to slide it in the truck. His combo was the creme of the crop. It was a nine foot ten weight Loomis GLX and it had an Able super 10 reel mounted on it. If you picked it up, you can contact Jeff at 856 767 3738 or e-mail him at germanj@ggmfirm.com The combo can also be dropped off at Scott's Bait and Tackle and after a few days of fishing with it, I will contact Jeff to let him know it is here. I am sure there is a few dozen bloodworms coming to the guy who returns it.
Sea Ya

Sunday, April 15, 2001 /\/\/\ 2:54pm

The secret is out! Herring have shown up at the Batsto Falls. A few guys are already working them over with the pick-up trucks and tanks. Get your fair share while the getting is good. Freaky weather this year could make this run of herring a short one.
Where are the FISH? Folks, as many of you already know, striper fishing is the biggest sport of fishing there is. Other types of fishing you can consider catching, but stripers do not fit into that category. Anglers had a fair weekend, but action could have been much better. There were quiet periods during the middle of the day and busier periods in the early morning and around sunset. According to reports this fine Easter morning, today was the day to be there.
I would like to thank everyone who has gone to the extra effort to keep the Graveling Point, Mystic Island beach and Pebble Beach areas clean. Believe me, there are a few folks who are on the edge about the amount of traffic added to their neighborhood the past few weeks. Any accumulation of trash would push them to a mad status and we sure want everyone to be happy. They allow anglers to fish, because this is a fishing community and they understand what it is to fish, but they would expect that you take of their "back yard" too. Help out a little, if you see trash, even if it's not yours or seems like it's been there awhile, pick it up. This way anglers will be welcome to come back again next Spring too.
Sorry, still no loran or GPS numbers for you for the mackerel location. Anglers who search for mackerel out of Little Egg Inlet tomorrow are likely to catch mackerel if they can find pods of fish which are surely out there somewhere, because reports have been heard the last couple of days about pods of fish to the Southern.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

4/14:" Hi Scott/Mo, Fished both Friday and Saturday in the mouth of the Mullica, along the sod banks near Ohio Drive and Grassy Channel. Not much doing anywhere. I did mark fish but just couldn't interest them I guess.... " ~"FishieSue"

April 14:" Scott, Fished the parkway bridge today late part of going out & some of the incoming tide had two throw back 18 inchers & one 25 incher before we had to leave. There were a few other fish caught but don't know how many were keepers. " ~ Frank

Saturday, April 14, 2001 /\/\/\ 6:53pm

A good couple of e-mails lay it on the line. I hear a little better chatter from anglers about catching stripers at dawn and dusk. It seems the bright sun of the day moves the fish off into deeper water.
Boaters should try to position themselves along the drop off ledge in the mouth of the Mullica River. Anglers who have been fishing along Turtle Island are catching stripers with more consistency then the anglers who are fishing the flats and it is a lot more peaceful without all the surf anglers trying to chip the gel coat off the side of you boat.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

4/13:" Hi Scott/Maureen, Fished just off Graveling Point in my boat for 6 hours yesterday from 8am to 2pm. Saw only three fish caught from the bank with just one being a keeper. Did not observe any fish caught from 10 to 15 boats. Striper fishing on the two days I have tried has been very slow. Any word on the mackerel? " ~Referee

4-13-01:" Just got back from fishing the point from 5pm til 10:30pm low tide was at 7:40pm. Winds were strong early but died down after dark.........BUT! no real action to speak of. There were a few shorts (about 10) and only one keeper out of quite a few fisherman. not a good night....Maybe it will pick up on Saturday. Good Luck all. " ~ Jim S

Friday, April 13, 2001 /\/\/\ 9:31pm

There actually was some real good fishing at Graveling Point today, but it seemed like the action quit at the bottom of the tide at 8:00am this morning. Very few reports from this afternoon to give us any details weather or not the action picked up again later in the day. A below e-mail report gives hope for good action at the bottom of the tide at sundown this evening. The weather was so mild today, that anyone that had the opportunity to fish the point this afternoon agreed that it was just nice to be out there.
We did run out of shrimp this morning, but I was able to capture another gallon after work this evening, so it is likely that we will run out in the morning again.
Bloodworm status is just ok. There are no large worms left and the next batch will be noonish on Easter Sunday.
We will be holding normal business hours 7:00am to 3:00pm for the holiday.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

4/12:" Hi Scott,
Ron and I fished the point last night.we had alot of small hits and ended up with 3 fish each with 2 being keepers. A good night. See ya " ~Scott N.

Thursday, April 12, 2001 /\/\/\ 7:20pm

It was the perfect day for fishing stripers at Graveling Point. The temperature hit a high of 60 degrees and the wind never really blew more then 10mph. It was foggy and damp, with barely a hint of sunshine now and then. Anglers should have whooped up on the bass, but the action along point was mediocre at best. There were a few bass taken, but nowhere near the action that we saw last week. Maybe the action will pick up at the turn of the bottom of the tide into the sundown hour.
Worm status is OK. We are out of the large bass worms, but have plenty of regulars to cover until worm guy gets here between eleven and one tomorrow. Some of the anglers are using the regular size worms even when the large are available. They say that the worms are the perfect size for single worm per hook baits and that the smaller worms dress up the hook well for a second cast out.
If I forget to mention it, or change the sign in the window, our reward for first bluefish off of Graveling Point stands as usual. $100.00 Gift certificate reward for any size bluefish caught by a SURF angler fishing the end of the road/Graveling Point area. I believe in past years, anglers have caught the first blue by now.
Yes, it is April 12, and this would be the weekend to catch mackerel out of Little Egg Inlet. I have NO reports of any mackerel being caught on hook and line locally. Hopefully, they are set back a week and we will be able to catch them up well next weekend.
Sea Ya

In a response to Nicks E-mail below, I guess the late afternoon would have been the right idea. According to Carl Niehorster, who weighed in our only bass of the day, catching was pretty good late this afternoon. Not a lot of big fish, but plenty of fish. Fresh batch of bloodworms rolled in here this morning, but there were no large worms. We did scoop up on plenty of regular size worms and should be in good shape with worms until the next batch arrives on Friday morning.

Wednesday, April 11, 2001 /\/\/\ 5:23pm

Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

4/09/01:" Hello, Where are the fish? Fished today at Graveling Point from 9am-3pm. Approx 25 anglers, about a dozen boats. I saw two fish caught the entire day and they were both short. I think I'm am going to stick with fishing the evenings. C-ya! . " ~Nick C.

Monday, April 9, 2001 /\/\/\ 6:45pm

Well, it is official!
The year 2001 fluke season for New Jersey waters is May 12 through September 11, 16" length, 8 fish bag limit. Done deal; stone!

Anglers didn't catch many bass during our first spring like day of the year. I hope the action turns on this evening as the sun starts to set. It was just too nice of a day for the bass be up in the shallower water of Graveling Point.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

:" Hey Scott, Went down to my dads in Mystic for a little three day fishing vacation., fished the (other) spot. Wed. night had 2 shorts, Thurs. morning another short (to calm and sunny early, I think?) but Fri. morning at the top of the outgoing tide and a brutal wind, I started nailing stripers!!! When it was all over I had caught 9 stripers, 4 of them went from 25 to 27 inches, took one for dinner and let the rest fight another day.My best day in the surf, by far. Later " ~Bill S.

Sunday, April 8, 2001 /\/\/\ 3:16

Anglers continue to catch the bass at Graveling Point, but the great week of fishing has turned back into a bass fishing pick. Each angler still has a chance at catching bass and almost surely sees fish caught, where as earlier in the week, during the right time, they were likely to catch multiple stripers themselves. The hot action could turn on again at any given point.
Large bloodworms came in early today and are almost sold out already. I should have enough regular size worms to get us through Wednesday when the next flats are due to come in.
Sea Ya

Saturday, April 7, 2001 /\/\/\ 6:30pm

I thought it was a great fishing day, by the reports we had earlier in the morning, but the action dropped off by 8:00am and most anglers felt todays fishing was slow at best. Hopefully, the bass action will pick up this evening like it has each evening this week. Even after dark last night, anglers continued to catch stripers. It's hard to figure out just when the bite is going to be.
Dress warm, winter clothing is barely enough. The temperature at the moment is 38 degrees at Graveling Point. With the wind blowing and the damp air, it can be very uncomfortable if you forget a hat and gloves.
There is additional information posted on the fluke situation; thanks J.B. for your input.
Sea Ya

Friday, April 6, 2001 /\/\/\ 6:26pm

Bloodworms came in; bloodworms went out. We have enough of a supply to get us through noon time or maybe two in the afternoon on Saturday. Next batch of worms will not be here until Sunday around 11:00am.
For what fish anglers didn't catch during the day yesterday, they made up for it last night. Fishing was good again.
Today, with it's overcast conditions and wind blowing against the bank, turned out to be a superb catching day. Fish remain in that 20 to 31 inch size, with a heavy bite now and then indicating the possibility of larger fish. Hopefully, this evening will be as productive as the past few evenings, because there are shoulder to shoulder anglers along the bank and it would be nice for them to get a shot at a bass dinner.
Fluke information update and e-mail commentaries
Sea Ya

Thursday, April 5, 2001 /\/\/\ 4:15pm

Yes! We have NO worms =(. Tomorrow, we expect a delivery between 11:00 and noon.
It was the nicest day, also known as a blue bird day, and anglers didn't catch bass like yesterday. Low tide was in the middle of the day and it was a little lower then usual. The combination of the low tide and the bright sun had the fish off of the point area. As soon as the sun drops this evening, and the tide flows back in, anglers should get a chance to do a little catchin' rather then just fishin'.
Tonight is another fun filled meeting with the recreational fluke committee. I will bring you up to date on the outcome of the meeting in the morning.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

4-5-01:" Scott,I stopped in for crabs on Wed. at about 6:55 am. Your service to get me in and out quickly was excellent,as always! I had to be in Barnegat Light in one hour and I made it with plenty of time. Now to the fishing,i fished on the Miss LBI out of B.L. and the first wreck was very productive for this time of year, I won the pool with a six pounder(tautog)! There were about 12 people on the boat and there had to be 30 keepers on the boat and some of those were nice fish,3-5 pounders. This is my first post on your website,but I use it every day to check the fishing reports and am a frequent customer of your store. You guys are great! " ~Howard

Wednesday, April 4, 2001 /\/\/\ 7:06pm

First of all, I would like to thank all the people who said nice things about our website, store and bait, specifically live grass shrimp and the quality of the bloodworms. It is really appreciated to hear positive comments now and then.
Today was so busy that it felt like a Saturday. We weighed in quite a few bass all day long. MizMo will hopefully sneak some time in tomorrow to get the pictures up.
Last evening, as the sun was setting, anglers caught good numbers of bass, but the action tapered off after dark around 8:30. There was a steady flow of anglers through the store this evening who anticipate a repeat of lasts nights sundown action at the Graveling Point. I wish them all well.
Bad news is shortage of bloodworms again. We are already out of large bass worms and I suspect that we will run out of worms about noon on Thursday and the next batch of worms will not be in until about noon on Friday. Thank you for your patience.
Sea Ya

Wednesday, April 4, 2001 /\/\/\ 6:30pm

Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

August 2000:" I have just been getting excited for this years season to get going, because last year was the first year I really got to do a lot of fishing. My father-in-law Harvey said come go to Tuckerton with me and I'll show you what fishing is!! So all summer we caught load of fluke, some days we returned for more bait, we caught so many. Never did we have a bad day until near the end of August we caught some small fluke but no keepers, then as the day went on, I was cutting squid when i noticed my line up the side of the boat going the same way we were drifting. I thought I was snagged and started winding it in and would you believe I had the biggest fluke either of us ever seen, but felt the guys who fish for fluke regularly would laugh if we had it weighed. The fish weighed 15lbs.8oz. was 42inches long. The next weekend we went down and was joking at the marina and found that it might have been one of the biggest caught for the year.. go figure, but sure made the four of us a great meal.. Hope everyone's luck this year can be so great. By the way what is the decision on fluke?????????? Thanks for the great updates, " ~ The Flat Broke Fishing Team.

04/03/01:" Good evening, Fished graveling point today 11 a.m.-300 p.m. Wind was more than I expected. A few fish were caught around noon time but I was not one of the lucky anglers. It was quite most of the day. I did manage to get my first striper of the year. around 2:45 p.m. I got a slot fish. 24 1/2" approx. 5lbs. After I got him I decided to leave b/c of the wind. I'm sure the action picked up as the day got shorter. fish was caught on bloodworm. C-ya! " ~Nick C.

Monday, April 2, 2001 /\/\/\ 7:14pm

Is it an all out blitz of fish flopping on the bank at Graveling Point? NO WAY! But, it is still the hottest spring bass fishery around. A pick of stripers was caught all day. Largest bass might have made 32", but that is unusual with most of the bass being caught still in the 20 to 30" range. Today, the tide didn't make a difference. Anglers caught stripers on both the rising and falling tide. The past few days, the last of the outgoing tide proved to be the best catching. Daytime or night time hasn't been important, the fish just come and go whenever. It's a matter of being there at just the right time.
Sea Ya

Sunday, April 1, 2001 /\/\/\ 3:35pm

Graveling Point has really produced quite a few Bass during the last few hours of the outgoing tide. Most of the bass being caught are between twenty and thirty one inches. Action throughout the day is pokey, but still interesting enough to keep anglers there.
It's still damp and cold out on the point th time of year. After the sun drops, there isn't any such thing as over dressed. Make sure you come prepared with winter type clothing.
Please be aware that the Graveling Point area is part of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife refuge land. Littering, drinking of alcohol beverages, pets and fires are NOT permitted on the refuge property and are ticketable offences. Please be kind to your fishing neighbor. Loud noise, horsing around and boom box radios are not considered to be acceptable behavior.
Sea Ya