FISHERMEN/Capt. Ron

[fishingmortgageman]

Well said Ron. It is not just your boat that this is happening to. I fish with some of the best captains from Point Pleasant to Keyport and everyone is having a very tough time. Something has changed and no one can figure out what that is. I just hope that good fishing returns at some point, even if it isn't this year. I guess that we are being taught the difference between fishing and catching.

[1captainron]

Originally Posted by fishingmortgageman

Well said Ron. It is not just your boat that this is happening to. I fish with some of the best captains from Point Pleasant to Keyport and everyone is having a very tough time. Something has changed and no one can figure out what that is. I just hope that good fishing returns at some point, even if it isn't this year. I guess that we are being taught the difference between fishing and catching.

Thanks Eric, but it's a tough lesson to be learned, even after all these years!

[dales529]

Thanks Ron for the Honesty and nice to see a Professional Capt start the conversation most of us non professionals have been having. With your work effort if anyone will find them its you.

Possibly its a little bit of everything and cant argue the habitat was affected by Sandy. Another issue in a year like this is the lack of boats out on any given day from MI to the Hook. Some days you only pass 3 boats in 20 miles. the point being that in a year like this you figure someone even by dumb luck will stumble on a hot area but its a desert out there even on the nice days. maybe weekends excluded but weekdays for sure.

I think some NEW set of numbers for that said "hot" area or depth is going to have to be established through trial and error and be an area hardly ever fished or not fished in years for Fluke. the Fish have obviously moved somewhere to adapt to the new habitat, lack of bait etc and it may be new to all of us.

sad part is we probably overfished our quota already

[CatchEmUp]

Everyone talks about Sandy and what it did to the bottom. But how about what we did AFTER Sandy. All this post-Sandy beach replenishment PUMPING AND DUMPING millions of cubic yards of sand into and onto the shore. Completely BURYING big jetties that formed the building blocks of so much ocean life, thereby OBLITERATING entire ecosystems. There is NOTHING to keep the predatory fish there because there is NOWHERE for the baitfish and all the other creatures to hide. The whole food chain, from bottom to top buried.

Vast stretches of our shoreline have become UNDERWATER DESERTS. If anything they should have extended the jetties. Hundreds of millions of dollars getting spent that gets washed away during any and every storm, big and small. Where does it all go? It coats, covers and fills in all the holes, depressions and other rock piles further off shore all of which used to attract and hold fish. It's a brutal cycle and the ACOE in their infinite wisdom is going to keep doing this every 6 years for almost the next 30 years. And all the beach goers, waterfront property owners, mayors and politicians have bought into it - jumping up and down saying look at how much $$ I got you to save your beaches!!! It's a massive money grab all at the expense of our fishery and all that lives (or lived) under our marine waters.

Believe it.

[Blackfish Doug]

Originally Posted by CatchEmUp

Everyone talks about Sandy and what it did to the bottom. But how about what we did AFTER Sandy. All this post-Sandy beach replenishment PUMPING AND DUMPING millions of cubic yards of sand into and onto the shore. Completely BURYING big jetties that formed the building blocks of so much ocean life, thereby OBLITERATING entire ecosystems. There is NOTHING to keep the predatory fish there because there is NOWHERE for the baitfish and all the other creatures to hide. The whole food chain, from bottom to top buried.

Vast stretches of our shoreline have become UNDERWATER DESERTS. If anything they should have extended the jetties. Hundreds of millions of dollars getting spent that gets washed away during any and every storm, big and small. Where does it all go? It coats, covers and fills in all the holes, depressions and other rock piles further off shore all of which used to attract and hold fish. It's a brutal cycle and the ACOE in their infinite wisdom is going to keep doing this every 6 years for almost the next 30 years. And all the beach goers, waterfront property owners, mayors and politicians have bought into it - jumping up and down saying look at how much $$ I got you to save your beaches!!! It's a massive money grab all at the expense of our fishery and all that lives (or lived) under our marine waters.

Believe it.

This about wraps it up about why everything that we see going on. I have to agree with you 100%. It seems all our fish that we used to get here now is Jones Inlet & east of there.

[flyersnfluke]

I've noticed this when I've been on the boats out of AH, and on my buddy's boat. Long drifts along the beach at sandy hook, and not a bite, some of our usual haunts near west bank and the AC, a few fish here and there and then nothing on the return drift. One thing we're definitely noticing is the numbers of smooth doggies, we can't seem to get away from them, we'll get them all along staten island, and all the way down the beginning of the hook on the same day....are the hordes of dogfish gobbling all the baitfish?

I would think the sand replenishment isn't helping, but there's places I'm used to fishing where there's no dredging/sand pumping, and they're just devoid of fish.

thanks for the honest report Capt., that's why you have the reputation that you do.

cheers

[gghisalberti]

This year has been by far one of the worst I could remember in years. Thank you Capt. Ron for the honest report, like many others have said it is comforting in a sense to hear it from a pro. I have been fishing out of highlands atleast 2 times a week this summer working areas near and far and have almost nothing to show for it.
One thing I find strange is the ratio of keepers on bait vs gulp. For me at least I have seen most of my fluke come in on bait when in the past bucktailing tipped with gulp would be the golden ticket.
As many have already said this can certainly be attributed to post sandy event and in the heat of the moment many governmental officials and citizens alike wanted quick fixes which ulitmatley put a dent in the ecosytem which may take years to recover.

Guess I will be back at it tomorrow!

[tuna john]

nice honest report that adds to your credibility. I fish mostly Cape May and fluking has been pretty good so far, for the 1st time in years we are seeing a decent bite in the Delaware bay as well, but to agree with your point we wondered the same about the stripers here. While we see reports of N Jersey boats crushing we sit here and wondered the same as you. It seems Mother nature does what it does and we just need to adapt. Im sure things will get better soon. If I do get up that way to fish it would surely be on your boat..

[MikeyP]

Hradest working Capt out there Ron for sure!! Well said...Im a surf guy and dont get on the boat much but i will say from the beach aspect of it...With the exception of 1 spot i fish "kind of"in the backj the beach front has been dead for me this year...Even by the rocks has been slow were as a few years a go i couyld go out and catch 10-20shorts off the beach and a keeper...Not this year in the ocean...I agree with Catch'emUp i 100% blame the useless beach replenisment project...It killed the bass bite off the beach and now the fluke bite...they have literally buried all the good beachs that have alway held fish...Its a damn shame how much wasted time/money go into that and how much of the oceans eco system they have killed....I hope it changes but im not feeling good about it

[abbashaya]

Hi Capt Ron: whats happening with the night fishing with Capt dan?