Had Billy40 of XL Rods charter the boat today with his parents, Jeremiah, and Pete. Billy is a great rod builder, a terrific fisherman, and a top notch guy as are his parents - its always a pleasure to have them on the boat for their annual charter. We hoped today we could get Billy another good "fluke blanket" shot like the one we took back in 2003...
Ran up north again with high hopes. Had a nice westerly breeze on our ride up with some good size long period swells coming from the south.
First couple of drops off Elberon and Long Branch provided just a few bites with short fluke.
We worked our way up the beach to Sea Bright, and got a little better pick going in rocks and shallows up that way. A lot more short life, with a keeper mixed in here and there, as well as plenty of mixed size seabass.
Took a ride offshore around 11:30, only to find no drift and a bigger heave, and we only picked a couple more seabass, so it was back inshore to finish the day. In there, we had a few solid drifts with a few more fish going in the box.
Overall, it was a very slow pick all day long. A few flurries here and there with some nice fluke and seabass in the mix, but just not enough bites to keep it interesting. Wound up with 11 in the box. Big fluke went a whopping 19", biggest seabass was around 2#. Thanks again to Billy and his parents for coming down, showing off some great custom rods, and thanks also to Jeremiah and Pete for filling the charter.
Back at it tomorrow, and I promise I will have pics
