MAY 24, 2019 - A NY BIGHT INSIDER FISHING & MARITIME PICS STUFFED INTO THE EMAIL ROUND BIN: TIME TO PULL THEM OUT (THIS WILL BE CONTINUOUSLY UPDATED)

[MisterX]

Go get'em Paulie!!

[EC NEWELL MAN]

This second Sunday in 2021 may have been the toughest fishing day for the fishing fleet here in the NY-NJ BIGHT, at least in thinking back over the years. From a tough tog bite for the NJ and NY commercial pin hook boats, to just very trying conditions and fishing on the mid and offshore wrecks. At least Nick had the right idea in enjoying a nice seafood meal at home with his family.....




I did speak with Captain Paul of the CAPTAIN DAVE III after he came in tonight, and needless to say that the weatherman "blew the forecast" with offshore sea heights and a honking steady wind that did not let up through most of the morning, made it pretty "gnarly" to put it bluntly here. The CAPTAIN DAVE did take the long steam despite the nautical seas, and the bottom fishing was surprisingly slow for this time of the year with a tough pick between pollock, cod and ling. Two days of a hard wind did not help, and this is all we can figure at this point, but there will be another mid-range wreck trip again next weekend....






Captain Greg of the YANKEE CAPTS started off the 2021 fishing season with a cooler-filler first trip....







Also a big thanks to Captain Greg, and with assistance from Florida Sport fishing, some of the most in-depth fishing video's on tackle, techniques and the secrets on what to do on an offshore trip out of Key West have been complied here:

The Definitive Gulf of Mexico Video Collection
Yankee Capts Long Range Fishing Part 1 of 2....https://youtu.be/CcMkZYqsKNs

Yankee Capts Long Range Gulf Trip Part 2 of 2...https://youtu.be/slfdMxmk5FQ


Gulf Long Range part 1 of 2 to Howell Hook - Deep Drop Jigging... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS2QmcCjUG0

Gulf Long Range part 2 of 2 to Howell Hook...https://youtu.be/leBIpIm7GU4


Prepping 4-Day Long Range Gulf Trip...https://youtu.be/CsJvFLwAgXk

Packing Hit List For Long Range Gulf Trip....https://youtu.be/e0uaFs5Ou7g

Tackle Prep For Multi Day Trips....https://youtu.be/UsoE0BGE9Z4


Are My Fish Tagged Do I Need To Bring A Cooler...https://youtu.be/OH-Q8nHzMos

Bow Or Stern Best Place To Fish...https://youtu.be/8IiPp3UQXWI


Long Range Gulf of Mexico Part 1 of 2...https://youtu.be/QYuWTSwoVvg

Long Range Gulf of Mexico Part 2 of 2...https://youtu.be/s_oO48-ROx4


Understanding Slow Pitch Gear...https://youtu.be/Om56N_OU25U

How To Slow Pitch Jig...https://youtu.be/P8YVLvOvNZY

Slow Pitch Jigging...https://youtu.be/vcZCdSZEkeE

Slow Pitch Jig Awareness...https://youtu.be/XOtjKROtfWA

Slow Pitch Jigging Secrets...https://youtu.be/SZVWktpAOPI

Slow Pitch Jigging Part 1 of 2...https://youtu.be/KMUH4nxc_2k

Slow Pitch Jigging Part 2 of 2...https://youtu.be/5mMGxcpNu0g

700' Slow Pitch Jigging Snapper Grouper Tackle Design & Selection...https://youtu.be/lhubqT4nCOQ


Snapper Secrets...https://youtu.be/bcyeOjbE_Ok

Gulf Coast Snapper Grouper Rod...https://youtu.be/WcDMEs49NsE

Gulf Snapper Grouper Slayfest 1 of 2...https://youtu.be/VJ2oOzzVIME

Gulf Snapper Grouper Slayfest 2 of 2....https://youtu.be/dhdQHteW9u8


The Best Power Assist Reels....https://youtu.be/V8c7Rjk1RN0

Where Electric Reels Go To Die....https://youtu.be/r4thOMTgWIw

Do Electric Reels Take The Sport Out Of Sport Fishing....https://youtu.be/ZoQjCpLDg7M

Reduce Tangles Deep Dropping....https://youtu.be/z2U9tPLSgaw


Long Range Bag Limits...https://youtu.be/AIj41Pxi78M

Long Range Mates Talk Shop...https://youtu.be/qGz9b7QJs68

Capt's Kitchen on the High Seas...https://youtu.be/h3bk3TPgtZM


Hot Bite On The Legendary Yankee Capts....https://youtu.be/VTReLV9eOAA

Dry Tortugas....https://youtu.be/gZQTA37xXwk

What Lives Beyond The Dry Tortugas....https://youtu.be/E2vh5bT0zm4

[EC NEWELL MAN]

Captain Jimmy of the JAMES JOSEPH was out with the crew on the VIKING 5 STAR and seemed to have one of the better catches of cod and pollock off Block Island. Another party boat w out that way, and I can pass along after talking to a captain whose friend was onboard, only 5 cod came up for the whole trip....



Captain Greg of the YANKEE CAPTS - KEY WEST, FLA, received a few pics from one of his customers who was on the first trip, and this should speak to how good the fishing was....

[MisterX]

"Foodie tradition dictates only eating wild oysters in months with the letter "r" -- from September to April -- to avoid watery shellfish, or worse, a nasty bout of food poisoning. Now, a new study suggests people have been following this practice for at least 4,000 years."

[EC NEWELL MAN]

Even with the reasonably warm weather over the past few days, fishing in the NY-NJ BIGHT to point out east, was extremely slow. Inconsistent fishing at best, but today we had one of the best local reports on inshore cod. I received a call in the morning about Captain Greg on the OCEAN EAGLE V who has been poking around the last few days, and today he finally put together a catch of very locally caught codfish.

The early report of the fishing day we heard that there were over 30 cod on the boat before noon. I do not know what the final total for the trip was, but here are two of the fish Captain Greg took pics of today. Captain Greg was disappointed to not follow up for tomorrow due to weather which will be very uncooperative for leaving the dock on both days of these holiday weekend....




Well we have a little special insider report here, and I am going first post what I wrote for socialized media, then go into detail on some of the pics that Captain Paul Paris took during the 'Big Bob' charter from a few days ago....




Here it is grey-skies Friday and many fishers believe there is little in the way of fish news to report, but if you're from the over a century old party boat fishing port here in the County of Kings, you will always have a fish tale to tell.

What brings us down to the Bay in the middle of January, and the answer of course is fish, freshly caught golden tiles from the recent 'Big Bob charter' with Captain Paul Paris onboard the CAPTAIN DAVE III.

There was no ice along the piers where in the past there would be carved out paths, first made by shovel and then topped off with rock salt which allowed one to safely walk over to one of the party boats selling fish. No not on January 20th in 2021 where the air temperature was a balmy 51 degrees, and all one needed to wear was a heavy duty sweatshirt and sneakers instead of a RefrigiWear coat and the traditional brown colored Viking fishing boots.

It did bring by one of the last living, and as much legendary party boat captains who came by and brought not only his wit, but his memory in going back to when his father Captain Adam was operating a fishing vessel starting around 1910. Captain Bill Doll who has celebrated his 92nd birthday reminded us about the icy winters we normally would come to expect from December through March, and how codfish would be caught within a surprisingly short distance from Breezy Point and the Rockaway shoreline.

"We would catch cod from November on, but February was an especially good month. Our best catch was 180 codfish around and off of Scallop Ridge between my father, brother and me....."

Here we were at the dock and talking with Captain Paul about his latest and very successful tilefish trip - despite the trying conditions, and now we are enjoying listening to fishing stories from over half a century ago with the lesson here is in how captains and fishermen not only learn, but also gauge how poor or bountiful a fishery may be at this time.

"When we lost one of our main fisheries, somehow another specie just filled in and we then fished for them during the season....."

We should be thankful that during the winter a party boat can go off tile fishing in our 'big canyon' when we have a break in the weather and it can be so productive that fishermen go home with enough fish for more than a few dinners, but also could experiment and deep drop with jigs that normally would put aside to use in other fisheries in faraway regions along our coast.

I did mention to Captain Billy on events that occurred over the years and reminded him when he would tell certain people - like myself, and give them this familiar line when they came by his boat, JET as it returned to the dock around 3 in the afternoon,

"Move along son, nothing for you to see here..."

But there was, and they made memories on all of us until this very day. Times in Sheepshead Bay have drastically changed to when a fleet of party boats, and as Captain Billy said, 36 party boats which were shoe-horned in along 9 piers along Emmons Ave, with boats lighting up and sailing for cod pre- and post-WW2, and then whiting from the 1970s through the early 1990s especially at this time in January when the temperatures barely warmed up and above the freezing mark in the early afternoon.

Celebrate these moments and bring back those memories of simpler times when all we talked about while at the dock was in those special fishing trips and passing these memories along to the next generation of captains and fishermen.




Captain Paul Paris had the CAPTAIN DAVE III chartered for days of tile fishing in the Hudson. Though the seas were extremely comfortable, the wind against tide conditions made it extremely tough to work certain areas along the east and west side of the 'big canyon.'

There was some very productive spots, and one where the dogfish seemed to be huddled up upon. Captain Paul had to get away from these beasts and steamed off to another location to where the noted tile boat "KIMBERLY' was working their gear. Not a problem he thought and he just continued on to another location which fortunately made everyone along the rail very happy with the number of fish that came up....









At one point, slow pitch jigs were able to be dropped to the bottom, and even Captain Keith broke out a Norwegian style jig and a old school high speed 4/0H, and all worked to catch tiles at this time in January. I should pass along a little tip here that there is a little trick to this too, as it is highly recommended to put a strip of meat on the hooks before you send the jig down....






There were a few other critters caught when Captain Paul went by some hard structure on the way in, but they only saw a few pollock and ling come up....




By the way, on a charter the food is normally stomach filling good, and everyone enjoyed a brisket and a really delicious desert at night....




Getting back to the slow pitch jigs and the one golden tilefish who seemed to have very recently escaped some longline gear as we can see a pretty clean snap clip and heavy leader leading into the mouth of this fish (of course there is a circle hook inside the mouth, for those who are wondering)....






Needless to say, at the end of the day they tilefish count was short of a boat limit but Captain Paul said everyone was extremely happy that caught a good number of fish, but also that they caught a nice break in the winter weather. Most of the guys stepped up to the cutting table to fillet, skin and carefully pack all the fish up on the way home....




Winter tile fishing can be extremely productive in easily catching a limit, especially when the conditions allow for a reasonable drift, and without being haunted by the hounds. The Hudson is a massive canyon with many areas and depths that can be worked during the day.

Captain Paul was very happy in getting close to a boat limit for the charter, and he added that circumstances in 2021 with an upcoming USCG inspection next month will make for the scheduling of only one more 5am cod trip next weekend. He did mention that once the CAPTAIN DAVE III leaves the boat yard, there will be a number of special offshore cod, pollock and tilefish trips in March through April. They will be posted here as soon as they're put on the schedule....

[MisterX]

Awesome report!

Good to see so many younger faces on these fishing trips.

[EC NEWELL MAN]

As many who live in the northeast region, the wind turned on the other day and has just backed off within the last few hours. It has to be pretty snotty when you see 10 foot seas earlier in the day then coming down in height to 7 feet. Needless to say, very few for-hire vessels have been fishing this weekend, and I do believe a few party boats like the OCEAN EAGLE will try to sail on the holiday (tomorrow)...



It seems though that Captain Michael Ardolino of the HUNTER - Sheepshead Bay, has been getting out - as in operating the BIG MOHAWK out of Shark River and catching a few blackfish. From what I was told earlier, the water is still warm for this time of the year, and that should be no surprise with air temps during the week hovering between 40 to a high of 51 degrees the other day....



I have to thank one of our regular contributing captains for driving past Shellfish Marina (Charlie 'Hart') and seeing this big Lydia being worked on. Notice the vessel name has been removed, and who knows what is going on at this time, but I haven't seeing a listing in Boats & Harbors for a while (unless I missed it). She has been laying up for what must be.....two years without a buyer.....

[EC NEWELL MAN]

Captain Greg of the OCEAN EAGLE V did get out today and he said it was a very tough fishing day for inshore cod fishing due to the condition of the water. With the wind honking the last three days, the few codfish that were caught made up for a day where there were very few bites, and Captain Greg did say he will give the ocean another day to straighten out and will be fishing on Wednesday.....




Captain Greg and the boss are ready to get back offshore again....




Thanks to Nick for passing along some back in the day photos from a time when it was legal to go winter January biscuit fishing.....

[nickh]

Streamer.....what a tank! Notice the overbuilt grab rails under the that built up bow!
Boat would cost a fortune to build today.

[EC NEWELL MAN]

As we are seeing at this time of the year with the winter Wave 1 fishing being extremely slow, much in part due to the blustery weather especially yesterday. I did receive news early this morning that 95 year old Walter Weigand, owner of the Flamingo in Gerritsen Beach, passed away yesterday. When further details come out, they will be posted.

Getting back to the weather, this view from the jetty at Shark River makes one want to go off for a day of bottom fishing, but I can assure you while passing over the VZ bridge early yesterday afternoon, it was honking with the wind....



Kelp farming in NY Marine & Coastal District waters? Is this grasping for straws, or someone believes there is a future in this endeavor.......



This looks really good, especially when one is sent a styro over for enjoying a nice seafood dinner at this time of the year....



Looks like the MJ IV is all ready for the 2021 fishing season. Seems it was smart of Captain Tony to get both this vessel along with the MJ V done with the yard work....