Fishing Around: Are You Ready to Hook Some Fish?

Brad Brooks with a gator bluefish caught on the outgoing tide.

I am so amped that spring is here. I spent two weekends in March reviewing and preparing our fishing gear. With a cotton swab, I checked every guide on every fishing rod for nicks and chips. I checked the drag on every spinning reel and respooled reels with yellow 20-pound Power Pro braided fishing line. I cut off last year’s leaders, snap swivels and lures. I organized and labeled every Plano tackle tray. I checked and replenished my inventory of bucktails, Gulp! jigheads, rubber paddletails, and leader material. I’m ready for April.

In spite of March’s nasty weather, the osprey, laughing gulls and striped bass should arrive in our area around April 1.

I’ll find Ted Leonard on a Townsends Inlet jetty throwing small paddletails to 12-to-20-inch striped bass on calmer April days. It’s not unusual to catch 10 to 20 striped bass around a high tide. The sexually immature fish congregate along area beaches while their fertile friends are mating in the tidal reaches of the Susquehanna, Delaware and Hudson rivers. Local tackle shops carry the 3-4-inch Bass Assassin, D.O.A., and Riptide paddletail lures and 3/8- and half-ounce jigheads that you need to catch these fish. I like 24 inches of 20-pound leader at the end of my braided fishing line so I can swing a striped bass out of the water. As your fishing correspondent, it is my annual responsibility to remind you to check out this fishery, as it is among the best that we have all year.

Around Tax Day, rumors of big bluefish percolate faster than an urn of coffee. Unlike striped bass, these bluefish head immediately for the shallow flats behind our barrier islands. The flats’ dark mud absorbs the sun’s rays, warming the shallow waters above. As the tide ebbs, the warmer waters that slide through nameless channels toward the Intracoastal Waterway inspire the bluefish to feed. You’ll find the warmest water temperatures (and typically hungriest fish) in the bottom half of the outgoing tide on sunny days. Google USGS Ludlam Thorofare and USGS Ingram Thorofare for the Sea Isle and Avalon tide and temperature gauges. I check them daily throughout the season. You can catch big bluefish from lots of spots, including the public docks in Stone Harbor, behind homes along Sea Isle’s no-wake zones, and the Avalon Manor fishing pier. While you’ll find Mark Koochembere throwing a shiny SP Minnow, you can catch plenty of bluefish soaking a chunk of bait, whether mullet, mackerel, or bunker, on a fireball rig. Just watch the bluefish’s sharp teeth! If Dr. Greg Ginsberg is around this spring, I’m sentencing a bluefish or two to his smoker for one of my favorite seafood treats!

A friend recently explained to me how, before each class, yogis set an intention for their session. An intention is a goal that focuses the mind through the various poses. Have you set your goals for fishing in 2018? Do you want to catch more fish this season? Do you want to catch the biggest fish of your life? Do you want to learn a new facet of fishing? Last year, I learned to bucktail flounder on Belmar’s Big Mohawk. While I didn’t win any pools, I ate a lot of flounder by bouncing 2-to-4-ounce jigs in 60-to-90-foot depths. Those skills paid off in August when our local artificial reefs filled with monster flounder. This summer, I want to better understand how to catch midsummer flounder in shallow water. Captain Mike Smith quietly patterned those fish last summer while the rest of us scratched at shorts in deeper channels. If he can put a 25-foot Dusky on those flats, the Chuckwagon can fish there, too.

I also want to help my dad further figure out the striped bass that invade Maine’s tidal rivers each summer. A generous local guide pointed us toward pockets of eel grass in deep rivers dominated by glacial rocks; I’m eager to explore the many spots that I have researched on the Navionics app. FX Masse hopes to figure out to catch swordfish in more than 1,200 feet of water, aided by the massive sash weights I salvaged from a Fitler Square renovation project.

I recently saw Jack and Gary Bates, who are eager to better understand how their Lowrance side-scan sonar works. Unlike standard fish finders, which bounce sound waves off the sea floor, the transducers of these side-scan sonars broadcast horizontally, allowing anglers to see structure, bait and gamefish around the boat. Capt. Dan Schaefer, who specializes in striped bass and sheepshead, has discovered dozens of back-bay spots using his side-scan sonar.

New electronics are among the myriad projects keeping local boatyards busy preparing boats for the coming season. While we outsource bottom paint and outboard engine maintenance to professionals, I start every season by detailing and waxing the Chuckwagon, our 2014 23SE Parker center console. The effort that I invest in her on warm afternoons in April keeps the boat ship-shape all summer. The wax allows dew, fish slime, and spilled drinks to slide off smooth surfaces. New to wax? Rub it on with a clean terrycloth or tube sock, let it dry until it starts to haze, and wipe it off with a clean microfiber cloth. Your boat and crew will thank you – just don’t wax the non-skid surfaces. Without regular maintenance, your aluminum T-top will quickly show its age. With a clean sock, I meticulously clean every inch of pipe with Flitz Metal Polish to reduces the inevitable pitting caused by the corrosive saltwater environment. As insurance, I further clean and protect the T-top with Collinite 850 Metal Wax. Finally, I protect the pipes with two coats of Collinite 845 Insulator Wax. I also wax the bowrail, cleats, engine cowling and all smooth gelcoat surfaces, leaving them smooth, shiny and slick. While you can find these waxes and polishes at local tackle shops, I buy my waxing socks at Hoy’s in Avalon.

While you’re shopping, consider your boat’s safety gear. The Chuckwagon is due for new flares. In addition to the new ones, I keep the recently expired set as extras should we ever need them. I’m in the market for a rechargeable LED spotlight to safely guide our early-morning fishing trips and moonlight cocktail cruises. I inspected our docklines and fenders after the wild weather we experienced in the fall. New lines and additional fenders are easy insurance to protect your investment. I also keep extra lines and fenders on the boat to secure the boat at Twisties in Strathmere and for protection during heavy weather.

You have a lot of work ahead of you, because Memorial Day is just a few weeks away. You have time, but I’ll be fishing while you’re waxing!