Capt. Mike Russo of the Sea Hawk, Perth Amboy, reported good fluke fishing over the weekend with plenty of action and an increase in the keeper ratio. There are tons of fluke around he said and now’s the time to learn how to catch them. Pool winners aboard the Sea Hawk were Ralph Kolasinski, Union, with a 4 1/2 pounder, Lou Napno, 3 1/2 pounder and Bill Grzye, Clark with a 4 pounder. Capt. Russo has been fishing Chapel Hill, the Ambrose and the Sandy Hook channels. The Sea Hawk fishes for sea bass and porgies on Wednesdays. Capt. George Bachert of the Angler out of Atlantic Highlands had a good day Wednesday with 55 keepers for 35 anglers with loads of fish being caught, many just short of keeper size. He was fishing the Sandy Hook Channel. “There were times when everyone was either taking one off or bringing one in,” he said.
Bob at Crabby’s Bait and Tackle in Keyport said the fluking continues strong in the bay and the crabbing has been unbelievable. Capt. Ed Bunting of the Seahorse, Atlantic Highlands, also reported a good day of fishing on Wednesday with a good pick in the Ambrose Channel until the drift got to be too much. He then went to the Sandy Hook Channel and continued to get some more keepers. Robert Johnson from South Plainfield, won the pool with a 5-pound fluke. Capt. Bob Malgieri of the Bottom has been fishing the Sandy Hook Channel using homemade feather jigs dipped in cod liver oil. He and his fellow angler, Kathyann Furman, have been fishing Sandy Hook all summer with the two of them catching between 50 and 100 shorts a day. Now, he reports, they’ve been getting their limit most days. Fishing the ledges of the channels seems to do the trick.
John Oswald
