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Skunk streak ended. (Sorta) Took my three young sons fishing today out back by the sod banks in CMC. Figured the boys may help shake the skunk. Middle one (6) is autistic. He loves fishing but he runs in the water as soon as I loosen the death grip to show him how to cast & retrieve. Then, I get wet & muddy going after him. The drowning risk scares the bejesus out of me. So I devised a new system: put on my surf belt; took the LATCH belt with clips from an old car seat; wrapped that around the surf belt 6 times and clipped each side onto his “car harness.” (Zips up the back and keeps him from jumping around the school bus.) Worked perfectly! Fished with sand eel scented green squid strips. Pseudo bait & wait. Retrieve with action preferred, but I suspect a chance of catching while dead sticking. Took an hour long skunk and finally my little harness buddy & I got hard hit, I set the hook, set it again, ML rod & 2000 sized reel and the fish started pulling a little drag with the drag set pretty tight. Call the other two boys over closer. They’re all excited. I get it to the surface and I see a damn fine flounder/fluke. Hard to measure with an excited little boy clipped to me and a flopping fish but over 20” and felt like min 3lbs but heavy for this time of year. Raising law abiding citizens, so that out of season fish is still swimming. Still cant catch a striped bass, but the day ended a skunk streak and maybe my luck is turning around.

Got tired of reporting skunks, so I didn't post any skunk reports the past week or so, I know you're all tired of reading my useless reports. Went out tonight and was planning to hit a spot that I felt would produce, especially with the drop in temps. But, I was advised by a fine gentleman on this site to go to a different spot instead, so I scrapped my plans and heeded his advice. For the first few hours I threw almost everything I had in my bag, but couldn't get a tap. Switched to one of my last plugs and was about to switch to my very last option, but I said, maybe 3 more casts. And just like that, the skunkathon is finally over (RIP adoboboy skunkathon Dec 2017 to April 2019). Caught a nice 20+ pounder and drove home with a stupid smile on my face while belting out Red Hot Chili Peppers songs. Finally..........What did I do differently from all my previous trips? nothing whatsoever......tonight lady luck was on my side. Thanks to all who tried to help and thank you to the fine gentleman who shall not be named. Lots of good karma going your way.

Well boys..hard work pays off. After being beat by many skunks prior to today and awful wind gusts tonight that finally dissapated at 630..I was finally rewarded. 2 bass. 1 at 29 inches..the other a 38 in 27 lb. Piggy. She was photo n released. Caught on a wonder bread bomber. Sorry for cheesin so hard. Was so pumped. Thanks to the nice fisherman gent who took this pic for me and shared in the moment.

Found a bite this morning of fish up to 20# every cast for an hour and a half. Outgoing tide seems to be the ticket.. the special part of this report is that I got my daughter on the fish for the first time and she was working these fish in like a pro. A few fish just under keeper size and over a dozen ranging from 10#-20# all fish were caught on a hydro minnow in skinny water. Right place right time kinda thing... they were feeding on what looked like holdover peanuts but I'm not 100% sure of that. Proudest and most exciting fishing session and day of my life when you can share the passion that I hold near and dear with my little girl who I also hold near and dear

Went out last night, conditions were not bad at all and not too many folks out. Had a decent bite, but not the type that can get someone off his recliner . Caught fish on a ghost mag darter, bone mag darter, sp, bomber and to my surprise a northbar darter. Unfortunately, left my hellraiser sluggo in the car. Tried some metal lips, but just couldnt get a sniff, with those things. Still learning and will persevere. A couple of sharpies showed up where I was, with lighter gear and got into a decent bite before I left. They seemed to be catching fish every few minutes. Im sure their evening was better than mine. But not complaining at all.

Brilliant idea. Let the left keep eating itself. I'm disgusted that a muslim was elected to congress and is allowed to repeatedly disparage this country and mock 9/11. I wish more people were equally disgusted. These people hate western culture yet we continue to allow more in.

It's such a joke. Charters, party boats, etc. etc... The amount of prespawn bass being killed has me disgusted. Big healthy breeders with millions of eggs just going to waste. No wonder the species is in decline. Could you imagine the state of the stock if regulations just prevented the killing of egg laden bass this time of year? It's a shame how widespread the disrespect for our local fish stocks is. And give me a break with the "its my right" argument. Thats just an excuse for machoism, self importance and/or greed. End of rant. Don't @ me.

Why ya gotta do that man?... it doesnt do anybody any good. Let the man enjoy his EXCELLENT catch as well as his pops new PB

the older i get the less i say to other people ,you just never know what kind of crack pot your dealing with.

Every once in a while something special happens. Every Monday I have dinner with my daughter and eleven year old granddaughter. We all take a turn picking and today we didn't end up at McDonalds. My daughter picked a local diner and we decided on 4:30 because my Granddaughter had her first fishing trip with her 4H club at a local pond at 6:00. The diner was slow since we were on the early side and within minutes we were eating. As we were getting ready to leave the waitress came with our bill but came right back with a new bill. This one was $16.00 less and the waitress said that someone in the diner had paid for my meal but she didn't know who. A waiter came over and said it was the gentleman seated in the booth with his wife right behind us. I got up and turned and the man I'd say was in his late 30's got up and shook my hand. He said his father was in Vietnam and had recently passed away after a long bout with the effects from agent orange and he wanted to honor his father with this very kind gesture. I thanked him then shook his hand then he gave me a big hug and I looked at his wife who had tears in her eyes and I hugged him back. The few others in the diner watched with smiles and as the three of us left I saw another Vet sitting with his family in a window booth. As I passed his window on the way down the ramp he smiled and gave me a small salute and I was proud to return it with a bigger smile. Both my daughter and granddaughter were smiling and that act of kindness made such an impression on them that it just made the evening perfect. You never know when something special will happen. My granddaughter did great on her first outing with six nice bluegills and even worked up the courage to put a worm on her own hook. This was a very good day.

Took my inflatable out today to see what has been under all these birds. Well found the fish and they all had sea lice on them very nice quality too. All released. My son keeps getting his PB fish every year. Pretty good times. All fish in deeper water this morning.

Where was the rain? Nary a drop...tiny bit on the ride home on 287....wind at my back all night. 1st cast blow up...3rd cast fish. 5 fish all between 30 and 36" 3oz super strike sinking little neck in the blueback herring color.

Cabo

Pelosi and Schumer already screaming how you can't do that, a bunch of hypocrites. Place them as close to their residence as possible. They want them treated better then they treat our Military and Veterans. They want them housed in reasonable accommodations and fed, children brought to school and treated medically all at taxpayer expense. But don't you dare put them in my neighborhood, typical case for Liberal Progressive Democrats ! NIMBY- Not In My Back Yard

So, the midlife crisis is underway. 2011 GT with 50,000 miles.

Fire for Effect Mr President, now time for the Storm............ you Russian Hoax believers need to watch real news like maybe True Pundit or Gateway Pundit.......... Leiu LIED Schiff LIED Pelosi LIED Nadler LIED Waters LIED Warner LIED Comey LIED Clapper LIED Brennan LIED Swalwell LIED Schumer LIED etc 95% of all “Media” LIED

First fish for me for the season - 3 about 30" all fish still swimming and my Pops PB surf fish! We didnt measure or weigh as we quickly unhooked, snapped a pic and sent her on her way. But my guess is about 40" and 35#, weighed enough that he couldnt pick her up after the fight. All in all fun night to be out.

"Striped bass are overfished and overfishing is occurring" - yet people still kill pre-spawn breeders full of eggs at an alarming rate and claim it as "their right". Put your egos aside and be part of the solution, not the problem.

The Secret Service has released a picture of the Chinese Woman who was arrested trying to enter Mar-a-Lago. She flew in all the way from Singapore to attend a Ball that was cancelled. Does she look familiar to you?

Blue skies, bright sunshine and the call of the suds, it was time to get back at it this morning. Started a bit later to let the sun come over the horizon and melt off some of the frost. Very little wind and some outgoing white water made for rather nice conditions. Water was a touch stained and there was some cabbage from yesterdays strong winds, but was looking fishy. Water was still a lot colder then I would like. Even with that cold water was able to pull out my first spring striper. Hit the tape at 26 inches. Lots of sea lice so had to be a fish on the move from deeper water. Was only throwing soft plastics and this one went for my white swimmer. Will now start to put in the time and hope this is the start of a decent spring run.

Still better than the effects of too much alcohol - doing incredibly stupid things you'll never in your entire life live down, waking up with a beast that a few hours previous you thought was a breathtakingly beautiful woman , and possibly death. I personally know three people that almost died of alcohol overdoses - no one has ever ODed on weed

Do you think the Boston Bomber should have voting rights? You roll out a stage full of clowns like you did last night and ask how Trump got elected...very funny.

Keep it in your pants. It had to be said

Finally broke my skunk for the year! Monmouth county in the back. Also my new PB. Only bite for the year and it was a good one!

THE CURSE HAS BEEN BROKEN!!!!! It was only one fish and it was only 24 inches long, but it had fins and stripes so now get out there and find some more. No more blaming me for the skunks Bob, lol. Water was a bit stained this morning, but very fishable. As the pic from MD shows, I could not believe how quickly the tide dropped this morning with that NW wind and how much of a blow out it was going to be. Saw a bunch of gannets going crazy a mile or so off the beach and a pod of dolphins in a feeding frenzy for 5 to 10 mins. Not much along the beach to bring any fish in. No crab sheds or noticeable bait source around. Light NE wind forecast for the morning which should make for some very nice white water and hopefully hungry stripers.

CCW are best in my book, and don’t break the bank. Worth every penny!

A good start to my season in the new Hobie Outback. Fish were caught and that made me happy.

Not really. They have to go somewhere in the US. Why shouldn’t they go to a “welcoming city/state”?

Pretty sure everyone in Washington as well as any American with a clue knew. We saw plenty of texts right from strozk and Paige themselves telling you what was going on. The only people that did not know are the CNN/MSNBC “reporters” and their viewers , and the Libs here.

After my Christmas tarpon fishing I just couldn’t stay away so back to Puerto Rico we went. I tied a ton of flies, everything I could think of. My toads were not great, I had no proper eyes so I tied some with no eyes and some with bead chain. I put my Wulff lines on a reel I’d been saving for such a trip, but was too lazy last time. Meanwhile our kitchen was ripped apart and we were living in stress and confusion. But off we went. The resort has a variety of ponds, lagoons, creeks and a river I couldn’t find. All of them have tarpon, but you have to get out really early to beat the crowds and golf carts. Not aesthetically great but hey. I was there 5 days, fished 3 days from 6-8 AM and one from 6-7, so not a ton of time but it left a lot of fun time with my wife. Last time I jumped 10 and landed 2 in 7 days, I’d hoped for a better ratio. Day 1 I didn’t fish, we were fried and just hung out relaxing. But 6 AM I was out there and ready for sunrise with my tutti fruity toad. 2 strips into the first cast and I was into a fish. It wasn’t a big fish, thirty something inches. It was nice to get the dust off but getting a fish on the first cast can be a jinx. It kinda was. I realized quickly that in the confusion of the house I forgot the material I wanted to bring for shock tippets. I didn’t have any last time, and these smaller fish didn’t really make it mandatory, but I was hoping for fish that did. For quite a while the toad was going untouched, but I saw a guy down the other end jump a good fish, a really good fish so I knew they were there. Turned out he was fishing live pilchards, so I tried my best to match them. A white and olive craft fur hollow fly looked good to me, I had 4 of those. They looked pretty good to the fish too, as I began hooking into much larger tarpon, more in the 40-50 lb. range. And that’s when the lack of shock tippet started showing. I’d get a good strip strike, compliments of hours watching Andy Mills videos, get 5,6,7 jumps out of them and just like that all I’d have was a frayed, white colored tippet where the fly had been. My new friend got it on film, but not posting, there was a lot of swearing in the video. Three times the same thing happened, all big fish. The local explained that bigger fish often come in on a full moon when the tide lets them get over a sandbar into the river. The jinx was on, but it would get worse. That night I drove an hour to the only place anyone knew where I might get line, and found some 40 lb. mono. I had one hollow fly left for the next morning. I tied my best bimini imitation in the 20 lb, tied the doubled to the new shock tippet with a surgeon’s knot, and meticulously tied a Lefty’s non-slip mono loop to connect that last fly. I felt much better with a shock tippet. 6 AM and I was at it again, fish and other stuff were all over the surface. The other stuff was interesting – 15 tarpon rolling around surrounded by about 200 sea turtles. Every time the line hit the water the turtles converged on it. I’m not sure if it was curiosity or hunger, because if the fly sat for more than a second or two they would eat it. I had to release 2 of them. Finally I got a clear shot to a rolling fish, made a few strips and came tight. The jinx was finally off and I felt a really strong set on him. But it wasn’t. My non-slip mono loop apparently was a non-non slip mono loop, and the empty tippet showed where it just pulled out. I was bummed, mostly because I don’t use that knot much, I should have stuck with what I know. Last of my hollows and I couldn’t get much interest in my other flies. Two days down, not feeling much love. This was not how I drew it up watching Silver Kings. I tried a couple of the toads I tied with bead chain, they didn’t do much for me, ditto with some of my bunny flies. I had one uneyed toad left, chartreuse and white so on it went. Only had one hour to fish and on this day not that many fish were rolling, but there were a couple worth casting at. After a few casts the line got tight, got a good strip strike on it and we were on. Got lots of jumps out of him, and he definitely had a nearby downed tree on his mind, but with a shock tippet I felt confident enough to lock up on him, turn him and land him, so finally jinx was off. The bigger fish were nowhere to be seen, maybe back out to sea, but mid 30”ers are still good for learning. I was about 2 for 10, so same as December and leaving the next day. With the jinx off I felt pretty relaxed, and passed up some small rolling fish in easy range, hoping for a bigger one. I did see one really large fish (for this spot) but it rolled once and disappeared. I cast as close as I could to where it was and the line went tight. When the fish hit the air I saw that it was not that fish, but it was a jumper and kept a little in the tank to get me on the reel. This fish really wanted to get into some hurricane debris, but locking up on him and really giving him the rod worked again, so I finished the trip landing 3, so a little better than last trip. I’ve only caught one tarpon in “real” sight fishing, years ago. This was not that, but in the 2 trips I feel like I’ve gotten much better at setting the hook – didn’t have any flies thrown, and definitely fighting them better and faster. I think getting my leaders frayed was from letting the fight go on too long, putting more heat on them seemed to help. I have to get better at the details; taking the time to tie better knots, remembering to check my tippet after jumping a fish. Having this many tarpon around was like going to school. I got schooled, but I learned a lot. I feel like I need a trip now to try these guys on the flats, so that will be my next attempt hopefully. I’m definitely addicted.

Looks like freezer fish from last year!!! Glad you're out of the cave Mike! Nice way to start off the season ---- or ---- death sentence from the Skunk Gods for the rest of the year!!! See you on the beach. PS You might want to take adoboboy with you, before we have to put him on fisherman suicide watch!

It must be like taking a viagra for you lefties and your date cancels...........