About Richard Andrae Expertise I can answer most questions about saltwater fishing with special emphasis on those related to inshore boat fishing as well as pier, bank, bridge and surf fishing.
Experience
Past/Present clients No clients: I am strictly a recreational fisherman and have no commercial interest in, nor business related motivation for answering questions about fishing.
I've been salwater fishing for quite a while now, usually fishing from small skiffs in the bay and inlets of NJ and have become pretty successful fishing the last few years. I've recently purchased a late model 18' Boston Whaler Outrage with twin 70's in the hopes of doing some offshore fishing with my older son, who's really eager to head out...I know this boat in not a canyon runner but I'm hoping to pick my days and look for some tuna inshore...after visiting the whaler forum (if you're intersted in boston whalers, this is an excellent resource...anything and everything you could ever want to know about those boats at continuouswave.com, I'm confident the boat will be fine...there's people who have taken their montauks 30+ miles offshore!)...I've most of the safety equipment one can put in such a small boat so that doesn't concern me but I've no experience with this type of fishing...I've read just about all I can about techniques from trolling to chunking and I think I'm ready to give it a try...for equipment I have several Diawa Heartland 6' heavy duty rods with 20 pound test on shimano tekota or calcutta reels...I'm assuming they will have enough backbone to wrestle with smaller tuna and fishing from a small boat, I always have the option of chasing after the fish...
I guess my main questions are:
I usually leave through the Shark River Inlet but have used Manasquan and Barnegat Inlets from time to time...
When will they be close enough to head out and stand a resonable chance of at least seeing a fish...I'm not expecting to catch too many right now...unless I have rookie luck!
and...what's the best technique to use...troll during the day and chunk at night? What about chunking during the day? Being such a small boat, I don't want to be reduced to a blip someone can miss on a radar screen in the dead of night!
What other species can we expect to run into with this type of fishing? My son would also love to catch shark...and to be honest, I think I might like the challenge of battling something a bit larger than a 4 pound fluke...
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated...
Thanks again for your time...
Dave Schappell
Answer Hi Dave;
I have often fished tuna and shark from a small boat out of Jones Inlet, NY.
Things are not like they used to be years ago. At one time giant bluefins in excess of 1000 pounds were regularly caught at the Mud Hole which is closer to you than to me. But not recently.
Since I still fish from a small boat, my preference for tuna is now geared to the smaller members of that group. Larger tuna species do arrive off of our area by late June, but at distances beyond what would be considered safe for a small boat. To have a good chance at catching tuna and related species, August is usually best. Green bonito, false albacore (tunny), spanish mackerel, mahi-mahi (dolphin-fish), skipjack, school bluefin tuna, and various sharks are usually within less tha ten miles of the beach. This usually lasts well into September, and maybe even early October.
I troll during the day. Small feathers, really small, 1/4 and 1/2 ounce in red/white, blue/white, green/yellow and black/white all work. Troll them at about 7 knots (8 mph) and any one of the species I mentioned might jump on. It is this variety that makes it interesting for me. You never know when the next fish will be a small green bonito of less than 5 pounds, or a school bluefin in excess of 20 pounds.
Go further out, use larger feathers and skirts, and chances are you will encounter larger fish.
Chunking works. Again, size of baits and chum will depend on how far off you decide to go. Using small baits inshore is not because the fish you are seeking are small, but because of what the fish are feeding on in that area. I have had many good days trolling 4 to 8 miles off the beach using the very small feathers, while the radio chatter is of very poor results reported by many anglers. When the fish are landed, they often spit up the contents of their stomachs, and it becomes clear why the small feathers work. For the most part, they are feeding on very small baitfish.
So if you choose to fish bait while at anchor or drifting, very small baits and fine chum is what will work. If you can get a 4 gallon pail of fresh spearing, this is the ideal inshore chum and bait for tuna. Years ago the Mud Hole was filled with boats at anchor chumming and fishing for bluefin tuna with fresh spearing during September and October. Then for a few years the giant bluefin tuna would move in later. November and even December had runs of giants. Here the chunks used were much larger, and whole live whiting and ling caught on the bottom and live bunker caught inshore were the baits.
Sharks do move in quite close to our shores in August. If you choose to fish for tuna with bait, set out a large bait on a shark rig. Though the shark population is not what it was, I have had various species of shark within less than 10 miles from the beach, including mako and thresher. Though more abundant and larger further off shore, there are certainly still some sharks that move in close enough for a small boat.
As an example, three years ago I was fluke fishing in about 65 feet of water about 5 miles SW of Jones Inlet.I had caught enough fluke on the more traditonal baited rig, and decided to bounce a 2 ounce bucktail on the bottom for a larger fluke. A small mako took my jig. Fortunately, the mako was hooked in the edge of its lip, otherwise it would have chewed through the mono leader. Who knows how many cut and broken fluke rigs are the result of sharks?
-Richard
