NJ Fishing / GAMBLER offshore Sea Bass trip

[Pokerman1]

Hello fellas,

Drove down from Upstate NY and made it from home to dock in about 6 hours, just in time for a short snooze in the parking lot. Woke up to the sounds of guys pulling in and gettin ready to roll.

Had a fantastic trip, as well. Started our pre-dawn in the stern but as someone mentioned there was some strange currents and it was a tad cramped, so I slid 2/3 way up the port side, and had plenty of space.

Started slow for me but got into gear and caught some amazing seabass. I have done several all night cod/ling trips but this is the first time I went out for offshore seabass, and could not get over the size. Capt. Bobby would shift the boat around and when it went over the sticky stuff it was game on.

I used hand-tied rigs with 4/0-6/0 hooks and switched between my Kevin Bogan custom 'Henry Schaefer' special and St. Croix premier 20-40 lb. rods.

Ended the day with 18 seabass and two ling.... Most of my seabass were well over 17-18 inches and about 6 in the 4-5 pound class. Just a phenomenal experience.

The ride home was long, as expected, and I too am glad that I was on the Gambler for the entire trip and especially the ride in. Capt. is great, and the mates are knowledgeable, helpful and cordial, and could not have a better time.

Slept a few winks on the ride in so I was fresh and ready to make the drive home (not!). Made it to Gouldsboro, PA and slept for an hour in the car. Home at 3am, fish prepared and vacuum-sealed by 5am, fried up the 2 ling for breakfast, and went to bed.

Now that's my kind of weekend, Big Guys!

Joe