Monday on the Big J

[Hookmanski]

A buddy and I took the special trip on the Big Jamaica on Monday, headed out after some bonito and albies. First drop we had a ton of species but not the ones we were looking for. In the first 10 minutes between my friend and I we caught sea bass, sea robins, chub macks and even a fluke all on epoxy jigs.

The next stop we had some Albie action with some people even tripled up on them. I hooked up with one and fought it for awhile until he unfortunately popped off the hook That would be my only chance at one all day. Glad I at least got to feel what it was like! Definitely the hardest fighting fish I've ever had on my line. I'll be looking for them in the surf this year too.

We moved around a good amount looking for fish, everywhere we went someone was catching them, just not us! We continued to pick away at macks and robins/bass though which was still a ton of fun. I love it when macks are in the slick, they just go crazy!

Great day out on the water! I have really fell in love with saltwater fishing, can't wait until I have enough money to buy my own saltwater boat I'd kill for a 17-19 footer to take around the bay and even the ocean on super calm days. Tight lines fellas!

[bulletbob]

You can get a serviceable 17 footer for peanuts in the off season.. People are always looking to dump older ones cheap, just to get rid of them,, and many are in good shape with good motors.. you will pay a premium for a center console, but plain old runabouts or bow riders are perfectly good for fishing salt water, and they are dirt cheap at times.....

By the way, if you were catching a lot of sea robins,sea bass, fluke, and Macks, its a very good bet you weren't moving the lure fast enough and were too far down in the water column.. Albies are impossibly fast, and you can never reel fast enough to take the lure away from them.. Next time, try rocketing that jig through the water if you see others catching Albies and Bonito, and you are catching birds and sea bass,,,, bob

[Hookmanski]

Originally Posted by bulletbob

You can get a serviceable 17 footer for peanuts in the off season.. People are always looking to dump older ones cheap, just to get rid of them,, and many are in good shape with good motors.. you will pay a premium for a center console, but plain old runabouts or bow riders are perfectly good for fishing salt water, and they are dirt cheap at times.....

By the way, if you were catching a lot of sea robins,sea bass, fluke, and Macks, its a very good bet you weren't moving the lure fast enough and were too far down in the water column.. Albies are impossibly fast, and you can never reel fast enough to take the lure away from them.. Next time, try rocketing that jig through the water if you see others catching Albies and Bonito, and you are catching birds and sea bass,,,, bob

Thanks for the boat tips! I’ll keep my eyes open this year. As for the lure tip, yeah I was reeling as fast as I could and that’s how I hooked up with the first one! Kept trying it throughout the day and watching what others were doing to try and mimic that, but I just didn’t get another one. Fishing was good but The albies were coming in small flurries. When no one was catching any I was jogging slower for the bottom dwellers and for Macks. next time I’ll get one!

[tombanjo]

HATE da chubs! They're a relatively new phenomenon whose specific purpose in their short miserable lives is to grab your lure or bait before an albie or bone does. Cock blocking on a marine level.

[dales529]

Hookmanski:
Your reports are engaging and your enthusiasm more so. Your fresh and saltwater escapades prove you are a fisherman, you grasp knowledge and have the humbleness to ask / learn even more. Glad to see you part of this site and look forward to all that you achieve as its well deserved. I assume you are young and have a world of fishing ahead of you. Great Job

[AndyS]

How do you catch Sea Robins when fishing for Bonito and False Albacore ?

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by dales529

Hookmanski:
Your reports are engaging and your enthusiasm more so. Your fresh and saltwater escapades prove you are a fisherman, you grasp knowledge and have the humbleness to ask / learn even more. Glad to see you part of this site and look forward to all that you achieve as its well deserved. I assume you are young and have a world of fishing ahead of you. Great Job

agreed.. My kind of young man.. just happy to be out fishing, and always enjoys it even when the fishing isn't great.. love his enthusiasm and his desire to up his game!. bob

[Reel Class]

Originally Posted by tombanjo

HATE da chubs! They're a relatively new phenomenon whose specific purpose in their short miserable lives is to grab your lure or bait before an albie or bone does. Cock blocking on a marine level.

Not new at all. They disappeared for like 20 years. They were around in good numbers in the 80's and early 90's during the summer as boats would load up on them before making runs for those "inshore" tunas during the late summer early fall.

[Skolmann]

Pick up a pack or two of the 4” Tsunami Split Tails (white, glass minnow, pink & bubblegum are my favorite colors). I caught bonito very well with them earlier in the summer (& have done well with them with albies in the past). Best used when those around you are jigging and they bring a school of fish to the surface. Cast out or allow it to drift out with the current, (if drifting back-wait until it’s out of sight for about 30-60 seconds)-then retrieve by pointing the rod tip towards the water and giving a few hard twitches of the rod tip-then reel in the slack & repeat. If you get a strike but do not hook up just stop your retrieve and allow it to sit there-9 out of 10 times you’ll get slammed.

Albie Snax are another good soft plastic type bait

[courbeco]

Check out Facebook "Marketplace". I saw some great local deals in the size boat you're searching for.