Saltwater Fishing News
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- Published: Sunday, 29 August 2010 09:07
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Fishing remains a bit slow. With warm waters most fish will shut down
and look for deeper cooler waters. Drifting for fluke and sea bass
remain the only game in town. Piers, docks and rock piles are continuing
to produce small snappers, porgies and all the crabs you can scoop up
within reach. Anglers are coming across a few small weakfish but no
solid reports yet. With warm bay waters in August, baitfish like
spearing and sand eels are thriving which is always a good sign for the
fall.
If you?re not fishing for fluke or sea bass then you are looking at two options.
Option one: wait until the waters cool down and get ready for fall bass and blues.
Option two: break open the check book and take a shot in the canyons for tuna.
A
charter in the canyons can run anywhere from $350 to $600 per angler,
but worth every dollar to the experienced angler. Fishing the canyons is
all about preparation. Being prepared is half the battle. Your Health
being the most important factor. You need to be in decent shape if you
plan on fighting any offshore fish. Finding the right day, weather, tuna
reports, water temperature and even the moon are all equally important
when fishing the canyons. Food, ice, bait, fuel and tackle add up quick
and can cost you several hundred dollars before you even touch a fishing
pole. Finding the right captain is everything. Do your homework and
talk to the captain you choose, make sure you are both on the same page.
The
canyons are not a place for amateurs. You can have everything lined up,
weather, great captain, excellent reports and the day you get out there
the bite is turned off. To enjoy a trip to the canyons the captain?s
experience will make all the difference in the world. Every angler who
has experienced the canyon will have a great story to tell, you will
never forget your trip to the canyons.
| |
| NJSWF Bob Maehrlein with a nice Bluefin Tuna caught aboard The Phyliis Ann |
The canyons are a place
equivalent to the Serengeti?s of Tanzania or the to the Amazon jungle.
For the most part you are about a hundred miles offshore which leaves
you no room for error. You need to be prepared for everything and
anything. A hundred miles from Sandy Hook and its like National
Geographic in your own back yard. Whales and dolphins for as far as the
eye can see can appear and disappear in minutes. Whale sharks, giant sea
turtles, schools of big squid can light up all around the boat. Sharks
by the dozen can show up like a hungry pack of hyenas and keep tuna away
from the boat all night. The biggest problem is other boats. What looks
like a city of lights the Canyon is a huge place but anglers will
jockey into position for water temperature and water depth. This is
where an experienced captain makes all the difference between a bad trip
and an amazing lifetime experience. (Read More)
At night the fun starts all over again. Get ready for the night time chunk. Night time in the canyons can be the loneliest time and then in a flash all hell can break loose. Get tuna started on a night time chunk and get ready for an intense battle that will test you and your tackle. Battles that can go on all night into the morning hours. Tuna and sword fish can hit the line at 40 mph and in water that?s like a torpedo .This is what every tuna angler hopes for. But be careful what you wish for. I have fished the canyons for the past 25 years and I have seen some experienced anglers get beat up so bad by tuna that they will never fish them again in fear of a heart attack. I have seen some of the best retire the canyons after a battle with a big eye or yellow fin. If I can measure the strength of an 80lb. to 100 lb. tuna it would be like getting into fight with someone bigger and stronger than you and remember it?s a fight to the finish, are you ready for that? Anything bigger than a 100lb tuna will test multiple anglers with ease. It?s the power and challenge of these fish that get anglers hooked for life. Fighting tuna is like testing for a black belt, for most anglers is the final stage in a fisherman?s conquest.
