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January/February 2023 edition of Big Game Fishing Journal features an article written by Capt. Kevin about prepping gear over the winter months to ensure a successful season. Every single piece of equipment from engines, to reels to hooks is gone through in the off season months to ensure it is in top shape to get us to and land the fish of a lifetime!
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This video is from September 2022 and was put together by 1st Phorm and 1st Phorm Outdoors. It was a great project to be a part of with Mike and Mike who braved the crappy elements to get on what was a great yellowfin and bluefin bite. Check it out!
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CURRENT AND PAST REPORTS:
8/1/24 - Its been one hell of a season and I am sorry for not keeping up with the reports on the website.
Tuna fishing has been steady for us since late May. We have had excellent bass fishing on the day and night trips as per usual. On the tuna grounds the fish have been mostly in the 40 inch class as of late with a few upper 60 inch fish mixed in. All methods are working wonderfully from troll to jig. To those that want to dedicate themselves they will get opportunity on the poppers as well.
If you're booked with us we will see you soon! We have been battling the weather with everyone else.
Tuna fishing has been steady for us since late May. We have had excellent bass fishing on the day and night trips as per usual. On the tuna grounds the fish have been mostly in the 40 inch class as of late with a few upper 60 inch fish mixed in. All methods are working wonderfully from troll to jig. To those that want to dedicate themselves they will get opportunity on the poppers as well.
If you're booked with us we will see you soon! We have been battling the weather with everyone else.
10/28/23 - The past couple of weeks we have had an incredible bite of giant bluefins. Battling the weather has been the only thing stopping us from getting hooked up on these incredible fish. We have been on the hunt for the recreational sized fish but its the time of the year when the success rates significantly decrease.
The fish in the picture was approximately 105" long and was safely revived and released using the release hook pictured built by LT Marine Products.
Watch Hill is still loaded with top water action from albies and striped bass. Bluefish are also in the mix.
The fat lady is about to sing for us as the water at our dock get shut off but if you are still looking to get out give us a call before its all over!
FYI: We are taking bookings for 2024 and the prime dates are already filling. Get your schedules figured out soon and give us a call to book your next trip!
The fish in the picture was approximately 105" long and was safely revived and released using the release hook pictured built by LT Marine Products.
Watch Hill is still loaded with top water action from albies and striped bass. Bluefish are also in the mix.
The fat lady is about to sing for us as the water at our dock get shut off but if you are still looking to get out give us a call before its all over!
FYI: We are taking bookings for 2024 and the prime dates are already filling. Get your schedules figured out soon and give us a call to book your next trip!
10/12/23 - There are still some bluefins around but the incredible mass of fish that we were spoiled by has moved out of our area. Its the time of the year where we need to start working hard for our bites and fish. Its also when getting those fish becomes exremely rewarding. The weather windows are short so we are only doing last minute bookings for anything offshore.
Watch Hill is loaded with top water action from albies and bass. Blackfish season is also in full swing.
We are taking bookings for 2024 and the prime dates are already filling. Get your schedules figured out soon and give us a call to book your next trip!
Watch Hill is loaded with top water action from albies and bass. Blackfish season is also in full swing.
We are taking bookings for 2024 and the prime dates are already filling. Get your schedules figured out soon and give us a call to book your next trip!
9/22/23 - The bluefin bite exploded for us over the past week. The hurricane brought some strong NE winds which we thought could have been bad for the offshore fishing but it did the total opposite! There are small amounts of yellowfin mixed in but its mainly 50-65 inch bluefins. Great fighting fish that are all over the Ronz and chunk baits we put out. Doubled up on quality fish has been common! IF you're still trying to get out with us we have some limited availability here in the next few weeks... get on it before its too late! She is going to sing soon unfortunately.
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8/25/23 - Incredible is the only way we can sum it up! We have had our tough, slower days but that's fishing but with the excellent effort from our clients we have constantly been on fish! The focus has been on the midshore bluefins with some yellowfins in the mix. The bluefins are still holding strong in the 60 inch range and we have been able to keep away from the really big girls. Still no trolling needed in the midshore game here thankfully. Nothing like jigging up tunas!
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8/1/23 - Epic is the only word lately. Some days are really good and some days are really, really good. We are averaging more than a few fish a day with a mix of bluefins and yellowfins. The bluefins are mostly in the 60 inch range and we have released several giants up to over 100 inches. The yellowfins are averaging about 50 pounds. We have not trolled in weeks and it has been primarily a jigging bite but with the right crew at the right times we are very successful on the poppers. Matt and his crew to the left landed that 72 inch beast on jigging gear at first light last week. Still stoked by that awesome fish!
7/10/23 - Well its been a bit since an update but if you're following along on social media you know we have been smashing tuna for over 3 weeks now! Bluefins, boat limits of yellowfins and some white marlin in the mix too! Offshore fishing is red hot. Mostly troll bites but we have connected on several occasions on the jigs and poppers as well. The new Chatter Lures wingman bars have been red hot for us on the troll.
The striped bass scene is as it should be... impressive to say the least! Many fish in the 40lb range and we have boated several over 50lb as well.
Inshore or offshore -IT'S TIME!
We are booked solid until September but keep an eye out on our social media pages because last minute cancellations get posted up to be filled and they do not last long!
The striped bass scene is as it should be... impressive to say the least! Many fish in the 40lb range and we have boated several over 50lb as well.
Inshore or offshore -IT'S TIME!
We are booked solid until September but keep an eye out on our social media pages because last minute cancellations get posted up to be filled and they do not last long!
5/27/23 - We are nearly a month into our season and its been nothing short of productive. The squid have been steady when the wind wasn't blowing early this month. We had several very productive trips! Striped bass are EVERYWHERE and the big fish are moving in.
We have made a few runs to the tuna grounds. Its all looking positive as we have seen bait, mammals and marked some fish. Its going to be any day now.
We have made a few runs to the tuna grounds. Its all looking positive as we have seen bait, mammals and marked some fish. Its going to be any day now.
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1/18/23 - I hope your holidays were as good as ours. We made it with no sick kids and lots of family time. The past few weeks have been full of waterfowl hunting and some striper fishing. Lots of really nice fish caught in the local rivers while the duck season has been slow due to the warm temperatures.
On the boat news we have some HUGE news coming out in the next few weeks. Winter work is beginning and there will be some great upgrades for 2023. All of our reels have been sent out for a full service and all necessary repairs are being made to the rods and other gear as well. Show season is upon us and I hope you find me/us at some of the shows or seminars here in the northeast. I will be speaking on jig and pop tuna, trolling techniques and just general midshore tuna fishing at a place near you! Come check us out. Listings for the seminars can be found on our social media pages or just reach out! |
12/6/22 - The caption says it all. Just ran a trip out of Oceanside on the OMC 31. We had some opportunity and had two swings that didn't connect. Unfortunately that is ghost hunting! For those who do not know "ghost hunting" is chasing the bluefins on the fall migration south. Many of them are here today and gone tomorrow it seems so we call them ghosts. Weather windows are tough to come by and when we get a shot - you gotta go! We had fish until December 21 last season... sushi for Christmas! Let make it happen again! Its definitely NOT over!
11/5/22 - What a finish to the yellowfins! The storms were BRUTAL this fall, screwing up the water right after Hurricane Ian close(ish) to shore, forcing us to run to Hudson Canyon. Several trips to the Hudson did not disappoint. Easy limits of yellowfins and some big eyes mixed in. Unfortunately it was too much of a distance/time commitment for many to go, and the windows were small when they presented themselves. Another fantastic end to the offshore season in Rhode Island.
We are officially done fishing out of Watch Hill. Some major news coming in the way of off season work. We are still available to run from Oceanside from now until it snows or the bluefins head south for good. Lets find us some top water ghosts!!!
We are officially done fishing out of Watch Hill. Some major news coming in the way of off season work. We are still available to run from Oceanside from now until it snows or the bluefins head south for good. Lets find us some top water ghosts!!!
10/13/22 - Its been a bit since the last report but the fishing has been nothing short of incredible... when we can get out. Unfortunately the two hurricanes that passed by offshore have moved water that was nicely tucked inshore and loaded with stud yellowfins has moved off into the canyons. This has made for some very long day trips for us but entirely worth the effort, filling the fish boxes easily! There are still bluefins around of all sizes but several giants in the 100" range. Soooo want to test your skills on a monster bluefin? Now is your chance!
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9/22/22 - Wow man, just wow. The bite has been ridiculous on the offshore grounds. Bluefins of all sizes, monster yellowfins and even big eyes on the popper in the canyons! Sad to say October is nearing and we are starting to really deal with some crappy weather systems here in the Northeast. We saw solid offshore fishing through October last season and we are hoping for a near repeat this year... fingers crossed!
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9/5/22 - Well, Its been over a month since the trolling gear has hit the water and this is good news as the popper bite is about as good as it has ever been! Yellowfins, bluefins and even a big eye! We are super stoked to see what September will bring. We are fully stocked for the chunk bite at the canyons or midshore but for now we will keep riding the popper train as we have seen some pretty damn epic surface explosions!
8/14/22 - The jig and pop tuna bite is on fire at the moment. We have had over a solid week of large recreational sized bluefins typically in the 68-70" range. As the week progressed and the fleet became too much we picked up and ran to some water that looked great on the charts. We were greeted with phenomenal yellowfin feeds which were CRUSHING the poppers! Inshore the bass bite continues to be hot as it has all season. Now is the time to get the last minute offshore trip booked!
7/20/22 - Lots of yellwfins have moved in and we have enjoyed the mix bag of big bluefin/yellowfin trips for a little while now. With water temperatures up the mahi and wahoo are are also showing face. Inshore waters are warming so the striped bass daytime bite is there but so are the bluefish. Night time has been really damn good as usual!
7/5/22 - Fishing is still insanely hot on the bass grounds. Daytime or nightime all on light tackle casting set ups. No live bait, no trolling. Seabass and fluke are spotty and we really have not spent much time targeting them as the bass fishing has been so good. Most bass are well north of 40". We have a bunch of tags on the boat for the bass so clients have had a good time tagging their fish they catch and releasing them. Offshore the tuna bite is a grind. Bites are there but you need to make them count. Giant bluefins are around and putting a whooping on the spin gear. Some of the midshore tuna runs are long distance but there are some yellowfins in the mix. Closer to home its all large class bluefins. Unfortunately we are not seeing the schools of fish as we have for the last 7 or so years so needless to say its not just the clients that are frustrated. Eat your wheaties... the odds of hooking into a 90" bluefin are pretty high right now.
6/22/22 - We have been extremely busy the last couple of weeks on the water with some damn good fishing. The striped bass bite inshore is absolutely incredible with several fish over 50 pounds. Top water bites on the slot fish and light tackle jig bites on the larger class fish... NO TROLLING! On the offshore front we landed a fat 53" bluefin on a spreader bar and had a few hook ups that ended up coming unbuttoned or breaking off. Regardless, the tuna season is officially in full swing. Unfortunately we have been battling a pretty difficult weather pattern this spring/early summer. Fingers crossed on he hopes of this changing for the better soon!
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6/5/22 - The bass have moved in! Big girls at block mixed with keeper slot fish and we have TONS of action locally around Watch Hill on smaller class to slot fish. Bluefish are also well into the mix. Offshore we had an early flurry of bluefins which have moved on. There is a very slow bite but they are still around. We did boat a near 300lb mako shark the other day on the troll. Nat Geo whale and dolphin shows for all on board! The bait is setting up nicely for the tuna bite to blow open any day now as we sit and wait impatiently.
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Starting to fill the cooler during the day light hours!
5/22/22 - Another solid week on the squid grounds. Some nights being spectacular and some nights better than average. Regardless, its been red hot! While water temps are still a bit on the cool side we are seeing the bass and bluefish move in. Lots of local stripers to keep anyone busy. We are begining to run for bluefins as we get weather windows although mother nature has not afforded us the opportunity just yet.
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5/14/22 - Its been a good week on the squid grounds out of Watch Hill! The trips produced from a couple of gallon bags per passenger to a full 150 quart cooler! Some of the best squid fishing we have ever seen went down on the last trip. We had a solid day bite right into the night! Some limited days are available - reach out to set something up! Check out all of the pictures and videos on our social media pages.
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12/8/21 - It was a cold and damp day to say the least chasing the ghosts on the OMC 31 but I had some hardcore MF'ers who wanted to get in on the chaos. We had a few good shots and one of the boils was loaded with some big bluefins. John made it happen going tight instantly on a Madd Mantis frostbite popper. Beautiful fish for the table! Maybe we will get another shot if the forecast allows.
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