Mud Hole Trip

[PHIL]

Hey guys, I will be buying a 20ft. c.c. very soon and have a couple of ideas in my head for next years season. I have never been out more than 2 or 3 miles. I want to make a trip to the mudhole. I guess its about 20 miles out. But, is there anything happening about 15 miles out. How far out does the mudhole start. Would you make that trip with a 20ft. c.c. I have taken a few safety courses and a coastal navigation course so I have some knowledge on the water, but, I'm a little nervous to head out that far. I fish out of the Manasquan Inlet. I want to catch Bluefin, Mahi, Mako, etc. I want to catch something with a little more of a fight than stripers and fluke. I will have navigation, vhf, cellphone, seatow. Tell me good news. And please be descriptive on all of your answers. Thank you.

[dikdanger]

i sure as sh!$t would not go to the mudhole in a 20ft vessel... first of all... you wont have enough fuel... and thats if you dont sink from taken waves over your bow in that CC ... 

just my opinion...    i dont think thats the answer you want to hear...

by the way... you dont need to go out that far to get yourself wrapped up into some good fishen...

[shkbilly]

I want to preface this by saying I am by no means an expert, merely a novice. A friend has a 23' Sea Hunt W/A. 110 gal. tank and a 150 Johnson. I go with him to the mud hole all the time and troll up and down. He is out of Raritan Bay and we have trolled as far south as Manasquan Inlet judging by what I saw on his GPS.

I have a 20' Grady White that I would not dream of taking out that far. We stick to 4-5 miles off and that is plenty of fishing for us.

[Luna Sea 5]

yes, you can make it to the mud hole.  The tip is only about 6-8 miles off the beach.  just pick your day, its loaded with fish

[IrishAyes]

From Manasquan Inlet you are probably talking about a 15 mile or so run to the closest part of the mud hole.

As Luna said, pick your days. Make sure you have a good weather window.

Also have all the necessary safety gear. This would include as the first basic item...a good compass. You never know when the electronics go down.

Best thing to do is jump on someone elses boat who has been there, done that. You can learn a lot from that experience.

If you go in your boat, tag along with another boat from your marina if possible. Remember, there is safety in numbers. 

Foremost, don't get ahead of yourself and put yourself into a dangerous position. Learn what to do and how to do it before you venture too far offshore.

[sealife]

What Joe (Irish Eyes) said is 100% on the money.