| 2008 Reports
Mary Lou Crew is back in the water and is ready for another great season. We will be docked at Sandy Hook Bay Marina from May 1st to June 1st and will be targeting Stripe Bass. We will then move the boat down to Hoffmans Marina in Brielle for the rest of the season.
Stripe Bass
Well the Mary Lou Crew started out the 2008 season with one of our repeat customers, Mike gates and party. We fished hard all day in less the favorable conditions but we put together a nice catch when it was time to pull the hook. The charter ended the day with 9 keepers and a few shorts. We also had our share of bluefish.
Stripe Bass
We were back out again this time with only three onboard. The weather was nasty with an East wind around 20 knots. The Jeff charter from PA stuck it our and ended with 4 keepers, which turned out to be a real good catch from the talk around the dock and on the radio. They also had several bluefish to add to the cooler.
Stripe Bass
Had Mike Gates from Rockaway NJ back out with his boss Mitch, his regular and friends. This trip the weather man cooperated and despite morning thick fog the group had a great day of Striper fishing. They had there limit and added three bonus fish and a few bluefish. They also released several shorts and we lost another four nice stripers! Great weather and a great bunch of guys.
Stripers
The Mary Lou was out with the group from A&C Kitchen and Baths for some Striped Bass fishing. Made one drop of the hook and picked away for the 6 hour trip. At the end we had 7 keepers and released a few shorts. Had a few blue fish but nothing out of control.
Stripers
Was back out for second day of three day fishing. Today was not good. We went back to the same area where we had them the day before, but never could get the fish going. We managed to pull three keepers out of the water and a few shorts. Did have a few blues but nothing to crazy.
Stripers
It was the final day fishing with the groups from A&C Kitchen and Baths. We thought today was going to be the day. But it turned out to be worse then the day before. Tried several drops marked fish on all of them but they would not eat. Went to one more spot and switched over to the troll and located the fish stacked up, but again they would not eat. We did land one big fish that went 22lbs to ease the pain. Great group of guys and thanks to Nick on the Benchmark for setting it up.
Stripers
Had the boys from Eastern Concrete out again, but this trip was not one of there better ones. We had blues blues and more blues but no Striper. Not sure where they are hiding but we have to keep going till we get it right.
Stripers
Had a group of guys from Cedar Grove P.D. onboard for another shot at Stripers. Today we caught a few nice fish on the troll. We also had some blue fish mixed in. The largest fish of the day was 20lbs. Not bad considering the way bass fishing has been.
Stripers
Today Capt. Darren took the day to fish with his father Jeff and 7 year old son Tyler. Well conditions were not that great for the crew on board and we made a quick drop on one spot and caught a nice 20lb Striper and then the little guy on board had enough of the rock and rolling and we called it a day after only 45 minutes of fishing.
Stripers
Had the George Gibson group out for the best day of the season on the stripers. There crew caught one shy of there limit and dropped twice as many. All fish were between 15 and 25lbs. Great day!
Stripers
Had Tom Conney charter on board but what a change from the day before. Today we went right back to where we killed the day before, but could only get one to 18 pounder to bite. We could see them on the bottom but we could not get through the blue fish. They were so thick we had one on before we could get the lines all out.
Stripers
Fished with Ed charter and Dad mating, fished everywhere from the bay to the rocks and had only blue fish. We tried everything but could not catch, had little blues off of the nude beach at the end of the day. 8 degree temp break off of the highlands bridge from 58 to 50. Bass should be coming up the beach any day.
Stripe Bass
Had Seth Goudie and friends onboard for another striper trip. But again the fish just are not eating. We found great life out in the area of Old Orchard with birds and fish on the service. There were some bass mixed in with the fish, and we pulled three out. The largest fish was 16lbs. All fish were caught on service plugs!!!
Stripe Bass
Was back out today for a half day trip with the boys from Pats Tavern. After a few moves with nothing to show, we moved to the west of Old Orchard and had two bass and a ton of blues. The largest fish was 23 lbs. Today we caught them on live fresh bunker.
Stripers
Had the Ken Hertz charter out today for a 3 man charter. We fished from Seaside to Deal and everywhere in between and could not put a striper in the boat! It has been a tuff go the last couple of weeks, but with the hot weather coming in it will kick off the fishing.
Shark Fishing
Was out for the first shark trip of 2008 with Josh and Crew from Lancaster PA. We had nice conditions south of the inlet and stopped for our first drift. After a few hours and a call from a commercial scallop boat we pulled in behind him and he gave us some fresh guts and we tried for some bluefin tuna that he reported behind his tow. After a few short drifts at that, we headed south and got on some new water and put the boys on two blue sharks. First one was around 100lbs and the second made them work a little. He went around 200lbs. Great group of guys and real nice weather. Looks like the water is here again just in time!!!
Sharks
The Crew of the Mary Lou was out for the Brett Bailey mako rodeo. With great conditions we set up and had two blue sharks early. At around 10:30 the middle rod went off and the game was on. Half hour battle and we landed a 217 pound mako. Decided to head in early. The fish was not the largest, as this year the tournament had a 402 pound and 301 pounder hit the scales. Congrats to the winner and thanks to Art Dellasalla for running such a top notch tournament for a great cause!!! We will be back out this weekend for the other two shark tournaments.
Sharks
With the Mary Lou Crew out of the water for repair work, the Crew of the Mary Lou ran a good friends boat for Mako Mania and Jersey Coast shark tournament. We decided to take a shot to the North due to all the boats fishing the tournament. What we did not know was there was also a shark tournament out of Long Island so we arrived on our spot only to find 4 boats right on it. A short move past them and we set up. We had 3 very large blue sharks in the morning and at around 11am we hooked up on the short line right next to the boat and the fight was on. After a 15 minute battle we boated a 157 pound mako. Although not big enough to put us in the money it was another nice fish for the Mary Lou Crew. Thanks again to Joe for offering us his boat to fish!
Stripers
Had the Robert Cannon and his Dad from Essex Fells out for a half day shot a Stripers. The day was a little ruff out there, but the little man hung in there. We had one nice fish on that dropped. We found the fish stacked real well, but they would not bite. Had a few big blues and called it a day. He was a trooper out there and a lot of fun to have onboard.
Sea Bass/Fluke
Mary Lou Crew was out for a half day Sea Bass trip. We stopped on a couple of pieces and put a decent catch of fish together. We also added a few nice fluke.
Sea Bass/Fluke
The Mary Lou Crew was back out again today for another bottom fishing trip. We started where we left off yesterday. However the South wind and the swell shut the fishing down. We made several moves and only put a few fish in the box along with a nice 30 pound Striper.
Fluke
Mary Lou Crew was out for a half day trip for some fluke. We did not have to travel far to find them however there was just to many short. We had over 40 fish, but only a handful of keepers. The largest fish was just a little under 5 pounds. Flat day on the water with a little ground swell.
Fluke
Had the Mary Lou Crew out for the Pt. Pleasant fluke tournament. Fished up to the North on the hard bottom, but we did not have any fish to put on the scale. Caught a lot of shorts and a handful of keepers. We also added a bunch of nice Seabass and Ling.
Fluke
Mary Lou was out for another day of fluke fishing. We only had a short run to find the fish. Today there was no problem catching fluke, the problem was getting keepers. We had every bit of 50 fish but only a handful of keepers. It was a great day for the kids on the boat with flat seas and plenty of action.
Fluke
Had our number one client George Gibson and his daughter Emily out again, but this time it was for the flatties. As usual when George and Emily go out with us it seems to be an automatic. We ended the day with a dozen keepers with one 5lbs and the other 6lbs. They also added a couple of 3s for good measure. We had our fair share of shorts as well.
Fluke
Was back out today with Tom Cannon and his son Robert and friends. When went right back to all the same spots where we had the fish the day before, but boy did conditions change. We even had trouble finding shorts! The thunderstorms moved in and we called it a half day. Not a very good day, but thats fishing.
Fluke
Had the group from Eugene Brennen Tree Services out for a day of bottom fishing. After moves all over the ocean we mangaged to put a decent catch together of fluke and seabass. Not enough keeper fluke today but we made up for it with seabass.
Fluke
Back out for another shot at some fluke today with the guys from the Beaver Creek Farm. Today we switched it up and ran south and had some nice keepers, but with a lack of a drift for the main part of the day it made fishing tuff. Ended the day with a 5lb and 4lb fish along with a decent amount of 18 and 19 inch fish. The big problem of the day was trying to keep the skates of the baits.
Blue Fish
Had Tom Cannon and his son Robert and friend Gram out for a banner day of blue fishing. It took a little to get them going, but once we did it was non stop action for the boys. The highlight of the day was when Robert decided to bring his SHARK rod! So top mate Phil rigged it all up for him and we dropped a whole blue fish fillet down next to the boat. Well you guessed it, the rod goes off and the battle is on! After dropping the anchor line on the ball and getting towed around between all the blue fish boats, we could not bring the fish up from the deep. However Capt. Tom on the Fintastic who was fishing about a 100 yards behind us got a look at the fish come when it came up to the surface and told me on the radio it was a real big Thresher Shark. We fought it for a little then the line parted. It was everything Robert was hoping for!!
Fluke
Mary Lou Crew was out for a half day of fluke fishing. Our first stop produced all our bites and keepers. We made a few moves but nothing at the other spots and ended up going back to where we first started in the morning. Like everyone else to many shorts and only a few keepers. We also had a few Seabass and one large Squid! We are now booking our fall striper trips so give us a call at 973-809-9736
End of 2008 Season
The Mary Lou Crew is out of the water and finished for the year. We would like to thank everyone who joined us onboard for the 2008 season. We look forward to having you back with us for 2009. Hopefully this year the diesel price will be back down and we can adjust our prices a little. We will once again be sailing out of Sandy Hook Bay Marina in the Highlands for the month of May for the hot Striper bite and then be back in Brielle at Hoffmans Marina for the Shark season which was outstanding in 2008 and the rest of the summer bite! From Captain Darren and first mate Phil Mancini thank you and we wish everyone happy and healthy holidays.
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