2001 JCAA Tournament

Getting Started

Dad woke me up the next morning, twice...

After an uneventful run down the bay, and a stop at the inlet for expensive gas, we were off to the Barnegat Ridge. The ride out was a little bumpy, but not too bad. Unlike last year, we had the numbers for the ridge. Over the winter we purchased a new chart, replacing the old, loran only chart on the boat. We keyed in the lat/lon for the middle of the north ridge and had a go at it. The only boats running out that were under 30 feet were Grady Whites. I think we were the smallest of those.

We got out there and dropped lines. Dad's rod was already rigged up, I wanted to tie up a fresh hook and leader. Dad had a 21" fish in the boat before I was done. He had two more about that size in the cooler before I even got a fish. I reminded him that we could only keep a total of six fish out there, and to save some room in the cooler for (hopefully) something bigger.

Unlocking The Secret

My first fish came soon afterward, and was a short. Following that was a sundial. My next fluke was a keeper. Then another short, followed by three more keepers, another short, and a keeper. All fish went back. Dad got one short and a sundial during that time. I had figured out the dropback I needed to do to let the fish take the hook, and I guess Dad forgot it.

During this time I tried some colored squid given out at the Berkeley Striper Club tournament. I caught squat on it. On piece did get a hit, and had the tail bitten off. I found the squid to be fairly stiff, but this one piece had a very thin tail, and that is what was bitten off. I think the pink ones will make good bucktail trailers, but the green ones didn't work well at the ridge as fluke bait.

OK, Who Turned Off The Big Fan?

It was getting late in the morning and the NW wind (and consequently, the drift) stopped. So did the bite. The water was a touch to the green side of bluewater. Very clean, and now very calm. There were a few boats trolling, but they didn't seem to do anything.

A half an hour into the doldrums, Dad lands a 23" fish. We stay a while longer, doing nothing, and decide to pack it in before the forecasted east wind starts.

We made it inside the inlet and it came up :)

The End Game

We stopped at Southwinds marina to weigh in the fish and get gas. Southwinds is a nice place. Too bad it is so far up Forked River and out of our way or it could become a regular stop.

Dad's fish was 23", and 3.90 pounds. We were tied for 2nd with the weight, but had them with the length (JCAA uses length as the tie breaker). First place at the time was over 6 pounds, so our prospects did not look good.

We ran home, unloaded and cleaned the boat, and I did some last minute prep work for my fishing club meeting, right before a much needed afternoon nap...

24 Hours at the End...	So Long Nana...and thanks	Other Side of the Inlet	Fishing the Susquehanna Flats	Fishing Reports
Weakfish in Three Takes	Recon	2001 JCAA Tournament	Tournament Weekend	First Annual Fly Fling
	Trying to Cope	In the Haze	Fishing with Zeebassman	Someone has to take the fall...

Burning the Candle At Both Ends

Getting Started

Unlocking The Secret

OK, Who Turned Off The Big Fan?

The End Game