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NJ Saltwater Fishing Articles

Hudson Canyon | When to Run and Where to Set Up

When to Run and where to set up

Hudson Canyon Sun SetOK, so now you have done some homework, read the forums hit the docks and gathered your offshore reports and it’s time to go. Now what? Wait until dusk and make the 3-4 hour run and get out there around 11-12 AM? You could do that and if you have good intelligence about where to run to you could get lucky d find a good spot to chunk from. Sometimes your schedule will only allow that, leave work on Friday after work get to the grounds around midnight and start the chunk. This can and does work sometimes. But to increase your chance of having a productive overnight trip you may want to leave earlier. Assuming you have some idea about where to go (which I’ll discuss in a later topic) your best odds are to break the inlet around 2-3 at the latest in late August early September and even earlier as the months move on and the sun sets earlier.....(Hit read More)

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Canyon Tuna Fishing | Chunking 101

The Timing

OK, so you’ve heard people talking about chunking for tuna, or we were on the chunk and caught 6 yellow fins… but what exactly do they mean by this and how do you go about it? Chunking simply put is cutting up bait fish and throwing it overboard with the hopes of attracting tuna. There is nothing mysterious and it’s pretty simple once you learn some of the basics. Hopefully this article will give you a beginner’s understanding of some of the chunking techniques to make your nest trip more successful.

Tuna on the DockFirst thing you need to know, when is it worth my while to go out and invest the time in an overnight chunking trip? Is one time of the year better than another? The answer is a solid -it depends. Typically the best time for chunking for tuna is late August to mid October. Some won’t even start until Labor Day or thereabouts. If you can only get out once for the season then this is the timing I would suggest. This will give you the best odds for having a productive trip. I said earlier that it depends and the reason for that is each season is different than the prior ones. Sometimes the chunking will start to payoff in the first or second week of August and other seasons it will be later. You need to develop some “ears” out there as to what others are experiencing in order to make a decision.



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Kayak Fishing In NJ

NJ KAYAK FISHING | FORUM


Kayak Fishing NJ The Kayak is not new, going back hundreds of years if not longer the Inuit Tribe has been hunting and fishing the northern waters from the Arctic Sea to the North Atlantic very successfully putting food on the table for their families as well as a reliable mode of transportation. This craft has served them well. Now we, the average saltwater fisherman has found that by using this rugged little craft we can improve our catch rate of many species of fish quite significantly. It allows us to get to waters that are too shallow for a regular boat and to far to wade out and possibly get caught out in the flats as the tide rises.

Here at NJ Saltwater Fisherman.com we are passionate about all forms of fishing, surf, private boating, charter boats, party boats and now kayaking. Although it is a very old form of fishing it has only taken hold in saltwater circles as a viable platform in which to fish off of in the past 5 or so years.

With today’s high price of fuel the kayak sure looks good too many sportsmen as it allows them the mobility as well as the excitement of Yaking as it is passionately called. No motor is needed to glide gracefully along to your favorite fishing spot, load your craft with fish and head back with little effort. Well almost, if you are like me I don’t get out too exercise to much these days and this sport is one that I surly can handle with ease.

There are many different types of kayaks on the market today and you should take the time to do a little research as to which one will best fit your style of fishing. We are looking forward to helping out the first time kayaker and the seasoned yaker alike. This new forum will be a good starting place to ask questions and post reports on ways people have outfitted their Yak to make it more of a fishing machine than a pleasure craft.

As mentioned earlier there are many different types of kayaks and with that goes the price range. I would say that the majority of today’s kayaks range in price from $400.00 to over $2000.00. Like today’s cars it depends on what equipment you outfit it with...........

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Riding the Beach Safely

Bech BuggyApril is the time of the year when every saltwater angler in New Jersey is getting ready for the spring run of that all too illusive trophy Striped Bass. Thoughts of new gear, replenishing you’re tackle box with your old tried and true plugs and lures and after reading and browsing catalogue after catalogue for that one new lure that will bring home this years trophy, your thoughts are now of getting out and finally hitting the beach. Let’s load up the Beach Buggy and hit the beach. Not so fast there Sparkey! If you are like me that spring process is not complete just yet.

I am a surf nut and love to be on old terra firma to do my fishing. But I am also lazy when it comes to getting to where I enjoy fishing. Don’t get me wrong, I will walk a little to get to a good beach area, but if I had my way I would opt to drive on the beach to get from point A to point B. Before this happens, every year I go through a process that will allow me to get on the beach safely and have no problems once I am there. Especially if I am taking the family with me for some fun in the sun and thoughts of any problems are miles away.

The old Beach Buggies of yester’ year are not the shiny, pretty colored vehicles we have today. Yesterdays old Beach Buggy was a big wheeled open aired contraption that was concocted in someone’s back yard or garage specifically designed to get you and maybe a buddy as well as all your gear to that fishing spot that no one knows about. Well they worked just fine thank you, but if I wanted to take the family of today for an outing in one of those I probably would get a thousand and one questions thrown at me such as; does it have air conditioning, where is the porta potty, or where can I plug in my cell phone or computer? Does it sound like something you’ve heard before?

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Fishing For Winter Flounder

Flounder rig phot AFishing for winter flounder doesn't require any fancy gear. Almost any rod and reel combo in your arsenal will work as long as you don't go too heavy. I like to fish as light as possible for these flatties. And since most of my flounder fishing is done in less than 15' of water, I can usually get away with it. My preferred outfit is a 5' to 6 1/2' light to medium light power rod and a small spinning or bait cast reel loaded with 6-10# braid. Berkley Fireline, Power Pro, Sufix and Stren Super Braid are all popular brands. The combination of shallow water and the fact that none of these fish are going to make a long run, means you're not going to need a whole heck of a lot of braid on your reel. And since a lot of folks like to fish multiple rods when flounder fishing, this can save you a ton of money. I would recommend a top shot of about 30 or 40 yards on each spool. That means you can buy one 150-yard spool for about $15 and have enough to fill four rigs!

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