Well, this weekend the boat crews did quite well snagging and dropping bunker again, and there were many reports of 30 lb. plus fish being taken from the mouth of the inlet to Seaside. John Caruso's boat brought in a 32 lb. fish on the snag, and Oscar, who fished with him, also broke 30 with another 32 lb. fish. Tommy Engel, Tom Swider, and John Merlino had a 31, a 35 and a 39lb. 8 oz. trio of bruiser bass. Impressive weights, congratulations guys. My long time friend Bobby Hill fished out of Grant's marina in Forked River with his buddy Chris, and they boated a four fish limit with 2 fish well over 30 lbs. Most of these cows have come off of Seaside.

Over on the beach the cows have finally made their run up and down L.B.I., with Sean Taylor, as I mentioned blasting a giant hole in the "simply bassin" tournament with a 48 lb. 12 oz. monster line side, caught in the suds up in Barnegat Light. Also on June 1st, Joe Filici fished the south end and snuck into 2nd place with a 42 lb. 8 oz. bass from Beach Haven. Bill Montrey is currently 3rd with a 41lb. 2 oz. fish. So with a couple weeks to go in the tourney, it looks like 40 lbs. might be needed to get you into the money, which consists of the top 8 spots. Big bass are up and down the surf and outside, but the bay is just a little slow in coming around with the larger bass, but have no fear, it will happen.

The alligator blues are everywhere you look, and I fished the suds this weekend and hauled in 8 or 10 dogs, all over 10 lbs., with a 13 lb. 8 oz. being the biggest I could beach, snapping off the rest. Scott Shildt had a couple gators at 12 and 13 lbs fishing in the inlet. The choppers can be caught on just about anything from socks, to flip-flops, or your t-shirt sleeve; anything. I do suggest bunker chunks though, and save your clothes.

Fluking is picking up, but it's a slow ride, as the water is still a little cold yet.
Double creek saw a couple guys limit out in the past week or so, but I see signs of an algae bloom starting up. I guess it's not to cold for that to put a real downer on the fluking, but the fish that are being caught are pretty impressive, with a few 23 to 25 inch flatties coming to the scales.

The shop is loaded with killies and squid for when these fluke get rolling, which should be in the coming week. They also have plenty of those deadly Gulp! baits for the fluke run.

So fishing is at it's finest right now, and those of you who can get out on the beach or boat, please do. You will not be disappointed. Heck, it's almost worth playing hooky from work with all the action going down! I think I'll do that a day or 2 this week. On 2nd thought, I might just hide on the beach all week! Good luck and great fishing.

-Bob Misak

Barnegat Light Bait and Tackle
Barnegat Light, New Jersey
www.barnegatlightbaitandtackle.com
609-494-4566