Warm weather heated up the Raritan Bay with plenty of bass action. On the troll, clams and now bunker, the action was steady. Its official, the spring run is in full swing. Every marina from Staten Island to the Highlands has a story about the one that got away and it is only the beginning. The striped bass has invaded the Raritan Bay with spring fever and drawing big crowds.
On the Staten Island side, Captain Ron Sr. aboard the Island Girl III had six keepers using bunker chunks. Captain Ron landed fish from 20 to 26 lbs. all on the out going tide.
In the Raritan Reach it was a race to anchor up and join the ever-growing fleet, which can be seen every morning from Rte 35 and the Parkway. Most anglers did ok with clams with about 2 out of 10 fish making the dinner table.
Hats off to Captain Bob aboard Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures. Captain Bob had the pleasure of hosting a Take-A-Soldier Fishing trip this weekend. On board was Lt Col Ken Tavares, TSgt Andrew Silkworth and Sfc Kevin Moore all from Maguire Air Force Base and all have seen Duty in the Middle East.
The boys wasted no time and hit the back of the bay at slack tide to troll up 2 keepers at 28 and 30" along with 9 shorts from 20-27". On the out going tide, they switched it up and got a good slick working, with fish on most of the time. The crew finished the day with six more keepers in the box (2 bonus fish) and released about 25 shorts. Lt. Col. Tavares did hook into a monster only to have it pop off just before the boat. Over all an outstanding day of fishing with a great bunch of guys who we cannot thank enough for their sacrifices and services to our country. Thank you
Fish On!