As the 2008 fishing season comes to a close here in New Jersey, we reflect fondly, gratefully, and favorably on this first full season with the new Henriques 44 boat.  Our clients and friends have added so many great catches to our fishing scrapbook and unforgettable memories that made 2008 another season to remember! We wanted to highlight some of the many memories that made it another great season.

            After taking delivery of the Henriques 44 in May 2008, Ray, Jay, Richie, and Alan got to put the boat the true test bringing her home from Barnegat to her new slip in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.  Our delivery trip involved us running North at 18 knots into a steady 20 to 25-knot wind and head sea with steep 4- to 6-footers – we were impressed by her stable, steady, no-creaking run – confirming what we’ve known from running other Henriques 44’s – that she’s a real beast!  She came to us in outstanding and truly turn-key condition, so we spent some weeks tweaking things the way we knew best and gearing her up with our own custom and favorite outfits, gear, and other tackle.  As we got her ready, the fishing season was already going on around us!

            The spring Striped Bass run was outstanding! Some of this fantastic fishing took place minutes from our inlet! Many mornings started with quickly snagging enough live bunkers for the live well, and later dropping them back down for big, hungry Stripers. Many of these trips were rewarded with limits of trophy Bass, many in the 20- to 35-pound range, fought on baitcasting or liveliner-style spinning reels on medium-weight rods and 15 to 20 pound test line! This was often truly “sight” fishing as we often watched 35-pound bass chase our bunker bait across the surface before inhaling them! We ended up in catch-and-release mode many times, and one trip also included a 60+ pound black drum (hooked on a live-lined bunker) brought boatside before a stray gaff ended it.

            While it would seem to be a tough decision to leave the great Striped Bass bite, the decision to target Bottom fish on other spring trips was made much easier by the great fishing we had with these plentiful and tasty fish! Our trips to the various wrecks east and southeast of Manasquan provided consistent and constant action with quality sea bass, with limit catches (25 sea bass/person) often being the rule, with many 2- to 3-pounders mixed in.  Seasonal blackfish limits kept us from keeping many of the tog landed in the spring. 

            As usual, bluefish invaded the Jersey waters and kept us busy! There was really consistent bluefishing this spring and summer, and it’s always fun to hook these plentiful and hard-fighting fish whether it’s your first or your 1,001 time. Several of our first-time fishermen (and women and kids) battled these 10- to 15-pound bruisers, and told us how their last biggest fish they caught was a hand-sized bluegill from a pond near home. Many of these first-timers became “pros” before the end of the trip, and outfished the seasoned guys. It’s always nice to see six anglers in the cockpit hooked up to six bluefish going in different directions! We encourage the sporty side of bluefishing with light-tackle fishing. Those who kept their blues were treated to Alan’s “Blue Balls” recipe that actually turns bluefish fillets into tasty fish cakes that can be easily mistake for crab cakes!

            The June and July offshore and mid-range fishing was probably better than many years.  The Mako Shark season was much better than in recent years.  While we did not capitalize on it as much (given our focus on inshore fishing at the time), many of our friends reported routinely catching 2 to 4 and up to 7 Mako’s a trip.  We only made one “fun” trip for them and boated one of two Mako’s for the day in the Mudhole, putting some tasty Mako steaks in the fridge and freezer. 

            This summer included some remarkable bonita fishing that reminded us of some of the fishing experienced in the 1980’s.  Some runs to the local lumps and ridges about 8 to 20 miles from our inlet produced dozens of these speedsters that truly “taste like chicken”.  Several trips allowed us to chum the bonita in close to the back of the boat where we baited them on fresh spearing and sand eels on tiny hooks, 10-pound-test line, and light spinning gear.  Some other trips focused on trolling feathers or spoons when we experienced non-stop and multiple hook-ups on these tasty but smaller members of the tuna family. 

            Meanwhile, we had one of our earlier canyon tuna runs in recent memory.  While in the past we’ve often run in June and July to troll the canyons, these trips were often to catch some smaller yellowfin and prepare for the “big boys” that usually come in later in July and stay through the August and the fall.  This year, we had some quality yellowfin trolling right off the bat on day trips to the canyon by the beginning of July, both in terms of quantity and quality! One of the best early-season trips was to the Spencer Canyon where we came across acres of 100-plus-pound yellowfin actively feeding and hooking up on top!  The great start to the offshore canyon fishing fizzled for all of the coastal boats by mid-summer at a time when tuna fishing usually only gets hotter.  Most of us are still scratching our heads as to why the combination of great conditions (such as warm, clean water) this summer just didn’t hold tuna or billfish the way we’d think.  The leading theory being - the water was TOO WARM - we encountered more marlin than tuna for over a month as the water was over 80 DEGREES!  Sounds nice - but that is simply too warm for tuna.  Longliners we know had said they were runing 250 MILES to the east of "warm water" to find cooler water and they did have tuna out there.  All that said - we always caught a bunch of fish and did have a couple really great days. While the tuna slump for all the boats continued well into the fall, we did pull fish on every trip to the edge, and pulled out a phenomenal trolling trip in early October.  We set out for a troll-chunk-troll trip (Friday morning to Saturday night), we were hooked up on the troll within 10 minutes of our arrival in the Toms Canyon at 2:30 pm and spent the next 4 hours almost constantly hooking up with 1 to 5 fish on the troll.  We boxed 29 longfin tuna from 50 to 65 pounds by 6:30 pm.  We decided that we were going in early, and passed on the overnight chunking and morning tilefishing, because there was no room left in the fishboxes!

            The fall brought back some incredible striper and bluefish fishing!  Fast and furious jigging that often took place underneath clouds of birds diving in the frothy waters left by bass and blues chopping through the bait schools!  Some days we resorted to trolling wire or planers to box the keeper bass, but by and large we were able to focus on using light to medium tackle to jig countless school-sized stripers with some nice, honest keepers.  Many of these bass trips were combined with wreck fishing in the afternoon to top off the limit-bass catches with some tasty sea bass or porgies fillets!

            By early November, we were tuning in our blackfishing touch with some runs to the rocks and reefs that hold Mr. Tog. Because of the bag limit then being one-fish-per-person, we were forced to release countless bucktoothed tog – many in the 4- to 6-pound range! Much of this fishing occurred in sight of the beach and in less than 40 feet of water. Given the moderate temperatures, we were sometimes togging in short-sleeves!  We had a number of first-timers out to try their hand at this sometimes-tricky feeder, and they (the anglers) were hooked on it!  There’s something about whacking that tog at the right time of the hit, and doubling that rod over to muscle him (or her) out of that rocky bottom.  As the bag limit went up to six-fish-per-angler, we consistently limited out with quality tog.  At the same time, we tried to practice releasing the bigger breeder females to promote future stocks.  The great blackfishing has taken us well into December, and we last sailed days before New Year’s, and continued to find great action with blackfish.  As one of our regular toggers said, the “chew” was on so much that it was like sea bass fishing can be with drop-and-reel fishing. 

            As 2009 begins, we’ve actually slipped out a few more times for togging.  However, our focus now will be preparing for an early start in the spring.  We’ve already made plans for some planned diesel-engine work, more updated and advanced electronics, interior improvements, and possibly a new double-anchoring set-up.  We look excitedly on this new season by welcoming our existing friends and clients, and welcoming new faces as well!

See you on the water!