5.18.13
Raritan Bay fishing is really cranked up. The bunker are in, but most of my reports say clams are still the favored bait. On Friday bunker were snagged and used, but only the clams brought in fish. Some real cow stripers were brought in and some big blues as well. Big fish is the word! The Knoll has remained productive. There were some nice Blackfish caught as well but thrown back. There also seem to be a lot of skates being caught. Great fishing on boats, but not as good from the shores.
The marinas are filling up and the Keyport mooring field is starting to have the sailboats placed on the moorings, but at a slow rate. KYC is still rebuilding as the Keyport waterfront and Penderson's Marina. The season is here and some places are not ready yet.
We should have our boat in the water this week. We will have a chance to fish and sail the bay. That will have us ready for the Memorial Day weekend which will be here in a flash.
We'll leave you with this thought.
5.25.2013
What happened to the weather? 40's this morning! Same thing is on the agenda for tomorrow. I guess there is no need to rush the boat down to the boatyard today. I will finish packer her up with supplies and take her down sometime this weekend.
The sailing is not usually that good early in the season, but the fishing is. Stripers are being caught at average around 20 pounds, blues have entered the bay in big numbers, bunker schools are here as well, fluke has started with some good sizes fish being caught. And sea bass opened Sunday and there have been some nice fish taken. Those looking for Ling will just have to keep looking. Some big blues are in the bay and gives you one heck of a fight. Using steel leader or 50lb plus leader and circle hooks are a must if you plan on bringing them on board. Flynn's Knoll is still turning out some really nice fish, plus you can catch fish from the front of the bay to the back of the bay right now. Some nice fluke being caught in the back bay. This weather may slow things down or even set it back a little due to the temperatures.
The Keyport mooring field has a few more boats in it than last week, but nothing like usual. I do believe Sandy slowed a lot of us down due to damage control, making ourselves a little longer than normal. It appears KYC will have the dock finished soon. John Olsen and the boys are still setting mooring balls and trying to get some control over the yard once Sandy. Once the boats are off the hard would be a great time to bring in some dumpsters and whip out the chain saws to get rid of the pile of boats damaged beyond repair or of no value. I have kept my boat there for years and this a year it was a zoo! Due to the lack of the ability of other boat yards, Olsen's was fuller than I have ever seen. I'll bet they were pretty busy this winter with repairs.
Keansburg pier looks like it will be finished shortly. I was told fisherman were using some of the pier already. The amusement park looks like it is pretty well together and if interested you might want to check their website. Most of the shores have been cleared of damaged buildings and seems so barren in some areas.
I don't know about you, but we are ready for this season. Sailing, fishing, relaxing cruises, trips up the Hudson, and just hanging on the boat will all be here before you know it. Have fun!
5.26.2013
Another ride down to the bay. Stopped in South Amboy and it is lacking the normal Sunday morning cars in the parking lot. I walked down to the shore and see three fishermen trying their luck, a few boats out on the bay, but no usual Memorial Day weekend. The wind was blowing off shore at the waterfront and it was very gusty. The fishermen were a good walk down the shore toward Old Bridge so i just observed from a distance and saw no action. They were able to cast pretty far with the help of the wind. I then got back on Route 35 and thought I would check out Viking Marina and found a few boats in the water, but not much else going on here. Back on the highway and off to Aberdeen where there was a guy fishing from the rocks and had a good size bluefish in the cooler. It was really windy here with waves lapping against the shore and the bay was covered with white caps. I jumped back into the truck and headed over to the Keyport Marine Basin. This is where there is a lot of action. Tons of boats in the water, boat traffic moving out to the bay, and just a better feeling of activity. They will all be in for a surprise once they get out there. The ramp has a good number of trailers, but few boats visible from the parking lot. There was a large yellow cigarette type boat being unloaded from the trailer. With the waves and the chop, this is not a good idea. Most the fishing boats cn not be seen and are most likely up around Old Orchard, Romers, or Flynn's Knoll.
Now time to check on the sailboats, but am surprised to see the mooring field empty except for a handful of boats. I would have thought, based on yesterday's activity, there would be a bunch more, but no changes. Wow, this is the first Memorial Day I can not remember not seeing a mooring field full of boats. I'll bet that the KYC dock has something to do with it. If there is no dock ready, there is no way for members to get to their vessel, so most are likely waiting for the dock to be finished.
A stop at KYC reveals that is definitely a factor. dinghies are lined up on the hard, the parking lot has two cars and the crane looks like it still has more work to do. Across Keyport Harbor I see a group of fisherman on shore with coolers, chairs, and a bunch of poles on sand spikes. They are ready for the holiday weekend!
We pull out of KYC and head down the street to Olsen's. We see an immediate parking problem win the number of boats on the property.
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