5/24
Glenn brought his Son, Aryeh, for the 2nd year in a row aboard the Benchmark. This time looking for the fight of a Striped Bass. Captain Nick, along with Matt, on deck, beat 3 bushels of clams on the grounds, finding only one bass. The one bass was Aryeh’s first ever, and from the smile on his face, he’s hooked! His first ever bass was 35 inches and Aryeh did a great job, fighting and landing the fish on 12lb tackle! Great to see you guys again, and look forward to better conditions next time!
5/26
Thursday showed the beginning of a string of days blowing with a south wind. South wind for fishing is not the best conditions, bringing the water temp down quick and stirring up the bottom. Jeff and his friends hung in, and with laughs the whole way, missed a few bites, but came tight on one keeper, being a 34″ solid clam fish! Thanks guys for understanding, dealing with the conditions, and for all the laughs. It was great having you aboard!
5/27am
Well after the last 2 trips and the quick collapse of the clam fishing, we decided to take a gamble and run a little ways down the beach, looking for the big bass. We found’em, and they were hungry. We put the spoons in and instantly had the experience of big fish jumping on them. Barry Gross and 3 buddies quickly put their limit in the boat, and with great weather released another double limit for a catch of over 20 big bass to 36lbs.
Thats fishing, sometimes a gamble pays off, other times you zig when you should of zagged! Great fishing with you guys and hope you can join us again soon!
5/27pm
Right back out in the afternoon for another spectacular trip with Brian and his friends. The big bass were still hungry, unable to resist the bunker spoons! The guys put a limit catch together, with almost everyone catching their personal biggest! Always a great time having you aboard, and see you soon for the shark tournament!
5/28
With high hopes we left the dock at 6am, Saturday morning, in the fog, telling stories of the day before! However, part of that story was that every tide is different and things can change on every switch. Never was that shown better then today. The difference the change of a tide makes, right back to the same spot as the day before showed us a lot of bait readings, but few fish. We made a short move to the south, and again marked only a few fish, but not getting a bite. Quickly we decided to give bottom fishing a try for the first time this season. We set up to be covered by bergalls. Not giving it too much time dealing with the bait thieves, we made a short move and found a decent ling bite. We caught some tog also, which with a closed season, all swam away. Finn, had the big fish of the day, with a jumbo ling! Thanks guys for enjoying the day on the water, it’s always a pleasure having you aboard!
5/29
With Shark season almost upon us, and the bunker showing up good along the beach, it was time for the boat to leave Sandy Hook and come back to it’s home port in Point Pleasant Beach. Trying to beat out the memorial weekend traffic, Captain John left Twin Lights Marina with Tom, John, and Mike aboard for the ride. In the fog, the crew ran over the area we found fish a few days before. This time they were there and again hungry. Quickly putting 4 bass on the boat, up to 34lbs. Trolling a little more, on the course home, the break in the fog came and the Benchmark pulled into her slip at SouthSide Marina for the season! Now is the start of BIG bass on Bunker, and time to start thinking about going offshore. Also the Benchmark 2 is in the slip and ready for some live-lining trips. Great times to come, Get in on the action!
