The report from the Striper trip last night was of slower fishing than on the past two trips that sailed this week. A few nice bass to just over 20 lbs and a handful of blue fish was about it for the enthusiastic turnout of Striper anglers. Next Bass trip is slated for this coming Wednesday Night, August 14 th at 7pm with Capt. Ray.
Capt. Matt reported a very solid mix of nice size fluke and good size sea bass on last night’s PM half day. Some nice looking bags of fillets came walking through the office as anglers purchased ice bags for their fish after the trip. Nothing big but all good quality with the best on both species around the four pound mark. Today’s half days at 8am and again at 1pm are set to sail aboard the Admiral Frances.
Roger reported today’s cod trip saw a great turnout of cod enthusiasts and about the most perfect blue bird weather anyone could ask for with low humidity, cobalt blue skies and comfortable temps. The day started with a bang with the first drop producing some really nice green white bellied cod covered in sea lice. From there the next spot was also good at first with one drift producing a nice pop of cod of mixed sizes but including some more nice green fish. After that however the cod shut off for reasons known only to them. The weather was perhaps too perfect with little to no drift. Many rock piles were sampled but for the rest of the day there just wasn’t much of a bite. In addition to the cod today there were a handful of keeper Pollock, some big perch and some nice red hake including a few baseball bats to over 3lbs. Quite a few short cod and short Pollock today as well. During the first two drops where most of the damage was done there were certainly some noteworthy catches which included a half dozen fish in the 18 to 25 lb range. Orland (aka Lucky) from Norwalk CT who has fished with the Frances Fleet for as long as the business has existed was far and away the cod super star today jigging up five nice cod including the 25 lb pool winner. Orlando also jigged up a dozen short cod as well today. Way to go Orlando! Longtime regular Anthony Mecurio from Coventry RI jigged up three nice cod today. Kristina from CT also had three nice cod today and so on. Jigs out produced bait today by a decent margin but good cod and Pollock were taken on both. Pictures showcasing angler hi lights today will be posted above today’s reports courtesy of Roger. For the Bird/Whale Enthusiasts we did see Whales today but the show, while good, was not what Roger had experienced mid week. We also saw a nice big school of Dolphin, a big Leatherback Sea Turtle and a variety of sea birds working the bait on the cod grounds. Most noteworthy bird was the Mid Western Yellowbelly Black Bird which is a bird that comes all the way from the high plains of the central western US found in places such as Eastern Wyoming and Eastern Colorado. Also our regular Cod season is set to begin in mid September on an exact date to be announced in the near future.
The afternoon half day was excellent according to first mate Cote who spoke of a great haul of nice size sea bass and a nice compliment of good size fluke. A number of anglers walked into the Capt. Tackle in search of bagged ice holding impressive bags of fillets for such a short trip! Congrats to Christine Blount who had the biggest fluke of the trip with a fine 24 inch slab that went just over 5 lbs. Christine was reported to be hi hook with a nice mix of good size fluke and nice size sea bass. The report for the morning trip was of okay fishing with a mix of fluke to 5 lbs and some sea bass to 3 lbs and actually not too bad considering there was little to no drift for the morning trip. Some pics from this afternoon’s trip showcasing a handful of angler hi lights will be posted above today’s reports courtesy Christine Blount. Tomorrow the Lady Frances will be set to sail with Capt. Mike at 8am for the first half day and 1pm, also on the Lady with Capt. Mike, for the second trip.
Capt. Rich reported okay fishing today on the 7 am full day boat. Wind against tide made things rather challenging, especially in the morning. Some fluke and a handful of sea bass with the biggest fluke of the day around six pounds. The fluke were not spread out that well either, as one very dialed in gentleman had 7 nice keepers for hi hook honors. No word was given on his method of fishing. Tomorrow is a new day and Capt. Rich will be set to sail at 7 am aboard the Gail Frances for the full day fluke and sea bass trip.
First mate Troy reported the 8 am to 3 pm full day charter for the Bob Mimitz group found some nice sea bass and a handful of good size fluke but the bite, while okay, was a little slow due mainly to wind against tide conditions most of the morning with the drift not picking up a bit until early afternoon.
