http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/ Tom Schlichter blogs about fishing and everything outdoors. en Copyright 2008 Mon, 12 May 2008 23:34:15 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss If you’ve heard rumblings about a potential new International Game Fish Association (IGFA) world record weakfish caught from Staten Island’s Raritan Bay surf, you’ve heard about the real deal. The 19-pound, 12-ounce brute was beached by angler Dave Alu (right in the photo), from Jackson, N.J., at 2 a.m. on Wednesday, May 7. “It was just a magnificent fish,” said Alu's guide, Captain Rich Swisstack, Jr., of Shore Catch Guide Service (www.shorecatch.com). “We were targeting stripers with bunker chunks but my partner, Dave Torrick, and I, knew some really big weakfish were around because we had caught and released several 11- to 15-pound monsters during the past week. Still, I never expected to see one this big!” According to Swisstack, 40, from Clark, NJ, the big weak took a bunker head and fought like a striped bass. When it first rolled in the surf after the 15-minute battle, it didn’t look like a weakfish at all. “The head on that fish was so large,” explained Swisstack (left in photo), “that I thought we had a red drum. As I lifted it from the water, it seemed to grow bigger and rounder. The body shape appeared more like a king salmon than a weak.” Swisstack cradled the fish in his arms and carried it up the beach. When the huge weak pulled the scale on his fish gripper past the 19-pound mark, Swisstack began to realize the enormity of the trophy. Goose bumps on his arms, he held the lunker for the lucky fisherman to examine. Alu, who has fished from boats for over 30 years but was on his very first surf fishing expedition, was amazed to see a weakfish so large. After taking a long look, he smiled and suggested the fish be released. A short discussion ensued, the decision was reversed, and the pair headed off to record an official weight at The Tackle Box in Hazlet, NJ, when the shop opened around 6:00 a.m. They later recorded an identical weight at Michael’s Tackle in Great Kills, NY. “I was completely shocked at the size of that weakfish,” said Alu, 38, “but I didn’t realize it might break the world record. Rich and I worked hard to pick the right night to get out. I guess being patient and playing the tides really paid off because we also caught six bass with three stretching the tape past 40 inches.” Swisstack noted that Alu did a nice job of fighting the big weak, making all the right moves at the right times. “I’m just thrilled to be involved in the catch,” he added. “My dad, Rich Swisstack, Sr., was probably as happy as me and Dave when he found out. He taught me most of what I know about fishing – including how to find the fish. I just want to tell him, ‘Thanks.’” For the record, the big weak was caught with a 10’ St. Croix spinning rod, Daiwa Emblem Pro 5500 reel, and 30-pound test, yellow Stren Super Braid line. The IGFA filing will be submitted soon. If the big fish is accepted, it will displace the current record holders. That’s right holders: two are tied at 19 pounds, 2 ounces. The first was caught in Jones Inlet by Dennis Rooney on Oct. 11, 1984. The latter was pulled from Delaware Bay, by William Thomas, on May 10, 1989. (Dave Alu shows off a potential IGFA world record weakfish caught from the shore of Raritan Bay. The huge tiderunner weighed in at 19 pounds, 12 ounces -- Photos courtesy of Alberto Knie and Shore Catch Guide Service)]]> http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/2008/05/potential_world_record_weakfis.html http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/2008/05/potential_world_record_weakfis.html Fishing Saltwater World Records Mon, 12 May 2008 23:34:15 -0500 The Freeport Tuna Club and Northeast NFSS are co-hosting a Shark Seminar on Thursday, May 8, from 7:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m., at the Cure of Ars Church, 2323 Merrick Avenue, Merrick, NY. Captain Lawrence Festa will be the featured speaker, covering all aspects of shark fishing with a special emphasis on strategies specific to Long Island. A question and answer session will follow the seminar. The night will cost you $20, payable at the door. Admission includes a barbecue and soft drinks, plus door prizes. For more information, visit www.ftcfishing.com. http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/2008/05/freeport_tuna_club_shark_fishing_seminar.html http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/2008/05/freeport_tuna_club_shark_fishing_seminar.html Thu, 08 May 2008 13:51:53 -0500 www.islandcurrent.com) is now targeting stripers and blues in the evening, flounders in the morning. The James Joseph (www.jamesjosephfishing.com) will be sailing full day trips for flounder. Last year saw some monster weakfish caught in Raritan Bay and Jamaica Bay. Most of the weaks, some weighing between 15 and 19 pounds, fell to live bunker or bunker chunks intended for stripers and blues. The action has begun again this year with weakfish of 14 and 16 pounds already reported. It makes me wonder how well anglers might score if they specifically target the weaks with large red, purple or white jelly worms? With the size of the fish weighed-in last year, it is very possible a new world record is cruising beneath the west end bunker schools this spring. ]]> http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/2008/05/when_the_weatherman_gives_you.html http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/2008/05/when_the_weatherman_gives_you.html Sat, 03 May 2008 16:56:24 -0500 In Friday’s column about cod fishing aboard the Montauk charter boat, Bluefin IV (www.bluefiniv.com,) I noted that persistence pays off when it comes to finding the action. Once the cod are located, however, you must still convince them to bite. The following tips from Captain Michael Potts should help: ● “I like a high-low rig for cod. Load up the bottom hook with a soft piece of clam. Place a smaller, hard piece on the top hook. Bergalls peck at the bottom choice most of the time and the big, soft bait should appease them. The top hook catches more cod. Bait it with a rim section of clam. Double the hook through the tough meat, leaving a little stringy trailer hanging free from the exposed barb.” ● “Light pecks usually indicate bergalls – fish through them. Big cod offer a more solid bite. If you think a cod is mouthing the bait, lift up slightly to load the rod. Set the hook only if you feel substantial weight.” ● “When cod chase herring or sand eels, diamond jigs can work well. Rather than yo-yo a jig straight up and down, cast away from the boat, allow it settle to the bottom, and then retrieve slowly. The jig should parallel the sea floor as you retrieve. This keeps it in the strike zone longer. I like day-glow orange tails on my diamond jigs.” ● “If dogfish are a nuisance, remove the skirts from your hooks. Colorful skirts and teasers increase the number of bites, but dogfish seem attracted to them even more than cod.” ● “If you aren’t sure how to rig up or entice codfish, blackfish, stripers, fluke, or just about any other local species of fish, take a few charter trips and learn how to do it right. A couple of trips with a good skipper can save you years of frustrating trial and error.” http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/2008/04/codfish_tips_from_captain_mich_1.html http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/2008/04/codfish_tips_from_captain_mich_1.html Sat, 26 Apr 2008 11:08:52 -0500 TROUT WATCH I stopped by Upper Lake in Yaphank at lunchtime on Tuesday. There I found Louie Morales and Joe Fornabaio scoring well with a mix of chunky rainbow and brown trout up to 12 inches. “I was here yesterday using night crawlers and caught nothing,” revealed Morales. “Today, I’m using wax worms and the fish are biting much better. The wax worms work really well - but you’ve got to put them on a tiny, size eight, beak-style hook.” West Lake in Patchogue, Sayville Mill Pond, Argyle Lake in Babylon and North Twin Lake in Wantagh have also offered solid trout action with the wax worms out-producing night crawlers and spinners at each location. Anglers casting the long wand at Connetqout River State Park Preserve, in Oakdale, continue to pick away at ‘bows and brookies. Black Woolly Buggers have been the most productive pattern with catches best on the upper beats. With a warming trend forecast for the remainder of the week, expect surface hatches to develop on local lakes and ponds. Blue Dunn dry flies produce when that happens on calm days toward the end of April and into early May. Size 16 white Variants (early morning to match hatches of Miller flies) and green-crystal Caddis Larvae patterns are also smart selections, according to Warren Ray at Parkwood Outfitters in Bohemia (www.parkwoodoutfitters.com). Ray has used the latter pattern to score consistently in recent days at Belmont Lake and Southards Pond. PANFISH BITE SET TO BEGIN Panfish fans should find bluegills and assorted sunfish sliding into the shallows over the next few days. Sunny coves and southern shores are where the action builds first on most lakes and ponds. Wax worms, meal worms and two-inch segments of night crawler, positioned 14 – 16 inches beneath a float, are traditional early season offerings. On Tuesday, I spied a mourning cloak butterfly laying eggs on a willow branch at Swan Pond in Calverton. This is a large, brown butterfly with gold trim along the edges of its wings. The undersides of the wings sport a wood chip pattern while the top is dark-chocolate brown with rich, purple spots. These butterflies hibernate through the winter months and reemerge just as the crappie bite begins to build. If you know of any crappie honey-holes (no pun intended,) now is the time to check them out. Locally, Forge Pond in Riverhead, Artist Lake in Middle Island and the Twin Ponds in Wantagh, are crappie fishing hot spots – but some freshwater diehards prefer to trek upstate to Croton and Swinging Bridge reservoirs. A free New York City Public Access Permit is required to fish these reservoirs (http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/31426.html).]]> http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/2008/04/freshwater_round-up.html http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/2008/04/freshwater_round-up.html Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:35:09 -0500 - Tom Schlichter FLOUNDER TIPS FROM THE PROS No doubt the warming weather will soon start to take the chill out of the winter flounder bite. If you are thinking about heading out over the next few weeks, consider these simple tips from a trio of Long Island’s better flounder skippers: ● Ken Tokar, The Angler, Howard Beach: “The keys to catching flounder right now are to chum heavily and use mussel or sandworm baits. Jiggle your bait while keeping it tight to the bottom – with the water still cold the fish are timid and need a little movement in the bait to peak their curiosity. ● Joe Vanderveldt, Jib VI, Captree: “Fish the ebb through the month of April for Great South Bay flounder. Switch over to the flood as May gets underway.” ● Mike Barnett, Codfather, Freeport: “Bring along more than one kind of bait. So far this season, the bite has been unsettled. One day the flatties want only sandworm, the next day they want clams. On Wednesday, I had them all on mussels.” BLACKFISH STILL AVAILABLE (Michael Potts, skipper of the Montauk charter boat, Bluefin IV, shows off a 9.5-pound blackfish that ate a hermit crab for angler Paul Davis, southeast of Block Island. CREDIT: Tom Schlichter) While most anglers have been trying to stir up flounder, a couple of boats looking for blackfish have scored pretty well. Fred Russo, captain of the Moriches open boat, Rosie, noted he’s still catching blackfish to 13 pounds in 70 to 90 feet of water. The key to catching the biggest ‘tog has been to use white crabs - which Russo has on board for bait when he heads offshore. Mike Barnett of the Freeport charter boat, Codfather, said he has also had a few big blackfish, along with a few cod and ling in 60 to 100 feet of water outside Jones Inlet. A few big blackfish have also mixed in with Montauk codfish on the more sticky pieces south and southeast of Block Island. If you are heading out that way, it might be a good idea to bring along some green crabs or hermit crabs if you can get them. STRIPERS STARTING TO SHOW When Dave Paras, captain of the Sheepshead Bay open boat, Capt. Dave, answered the phone on Wednesday evening, I clearly heard the words “Fish On!” in the background. That’s because Paras has begun sailing evening trips for striped bass. So far, his fares have been playing catch and release with a decent number of schoolies falling to sandworm baits. Best of the action has been slightly west of Canarsie Pier, and in Runway Channel. Striper season opened on April 15th, but with the water still cool, the action on bunker chunks has yet to catch fire. Scattered reports are beginning to filter in from Little Neck Bay, on the flats of Oyster Bay, and up in the tidal creeks of Shinnecock Bay. It should take only a few days of 60-degree weather to kick the bass season into gear.]]> http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/2008/04/flounder_tips_from_the_pros_1.html http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/2008/04/flounder_tips_from_the_pros_1.html Sun, 20 Apr 2008 11:25:46 -0500 Offshore, Salt Water Sportsman, Sports Afield and Boating. His most recent book, "Long Island's Best Freshwater Fishing," is available at local tackle shops, and online at www.outdoortom.com. Through his writing, photography, and seminars, "Outdoor Tom" continues to introduce both young and old to the beauty, mysteries and pleasures of the great outdoors. He lives on eastern Long Island, where he enjoys spending time with family while covering topics ranging from fresh water and saltwater fishing to hunting and conservation. ]]> http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/2008/04/meet_tom_schlichter.html http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/2008/04/meet_tom_schlichter.html Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:23:22 -0500