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FISHING UPDATE LIST
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Blues After
Dark
Popping bluefish in
the Manasquan With Capt. Anthony
June 13, 2008 |
by Daniel Nee
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| It wasn't a striper,
but my first bluefish on poppers, caught
outside the mouth of the Pt. Pleasant
Canal this week aboard the Angela Rose
II, provided just as much fun. (Photo:
Anthony Reina) |
For
some anglers, as well as charter captains up and
down the Jersey coast, bluefish represent the
last resort after a striper trip gone bad. For
me, the “early June blues” in the Manasquan
River were a perfect introduction to a new brand
of fishing.
I consider myself a bottom fishing angler
through and through. It’s how I grew up. All of
the striper runs in the world never gave me the
same satisfaction of one doormat fluke or feisty
sea bass tugging on my line. But that was about
to change just this Wednesday, June 11, thanks
to
Capt. Anthony Reina of Angela Rose Charters,
out of Point Pleasant Beach.
Capt. Anthony invited me along on a mixed trip
among friends, first snagging bunker off
Manasquan to find stripers and then into the
Manasquan River to hunt quietly and diligently
for whichever species were on the hunt for a
midnight snack.
Bunker pods were found easily off Manasquan, but
the stripers were nowhere to be found. That was
bad news for the rest of our party, but good
news for me. After hearing from friends,
colleagues and anyone else who has ever fished
the river, a slow bass bite meant we’d be on the
hunt for blues in the river just as the sun was
setting in the west.
After a short ride in from the ocean, Capt.
Anthony caught a drift just in front of the
Point Pleasant Canal, and with the help of Capt.
Wayne, Capt. Anthony’s father, my popper was
securely fastened to a spinning outfit and
monofilament line with a short leader. The
popper itself was a 3.5-inch peanut bunker
imitation, fresh off the shelf of Brielle Bait
and Tackle.
My adept bottom fishing skills wouldn’t help me
here. This was something new, something I had
ignored through fluke season upon fluke season.
I was going to go popping for blues, and I was
determined to see what all the fuss was about.
Capt. Anthony has been down this road before.
Throwing poppers for river blues is common this
time of year (as well as earlier in the season),
but fishing under the light of a late spring
moon and 80-degree temperatures, it seemed like
the perfect evening to try something new. As the
engines of the Angela Rose II came to a stop,
the water rushing through the canal on an
incoming tide sounded like a faucet had been
turned on. The sound was natural, and
delightful.
Then, a break in the water flow. A splash at 11
o’clock off the bow, port side. A ripple as a
bluefish peaked out of the water. Capt. Anthony
grabbed my fishing rod and provided an
on-the-spot, impromptu lesson of using poppers.
Casting out towards the ripple, he then
retrieved quickly, but not terribly fast.
“Just enough to keep that popper 6-inches below
the surface,” he said.
Occasionally while retrieving, he gave the popper a
brisk tug in order to “pop” the lure above the surface to
create some attention and mimic a baitfish. The bluefish didn’t
attack the lure, but I was ready for next time,
which would come only moments later. As Capt.
Anthony repositioned to boat just off the mouth
of the canal, another tell-tale ripple appeared.
This was my chance.
I cast out towards the bluefish which had just
broken the surface. I began reeling in and after
two quick tugs of the popper, he jumped on it. I
had my first bluefish of the night, just moments
after Capt. Anthony’s expert demonstration.
This was what the fuss was about, I learned. He
was a small bluefish, cocktail size, but he was
feisty, and fun to reel in. After an evening of
uncooperative stripers and an excess of seaweed
outside the inlet, I boated the first fish of the night
(besides the bunker we had snagged)
using my new skill.
Popping blues is a mixture of timing, seeing and
listening. Don’t cast blind, instead, listen
intently for blues breaking the surface and look
to see the ripples in the water they leave
behind. Cast towards the fish you are tracking
and start reeling in as quickly as appropriate
to keep up with him. Yank the lure to “pop” it
and see if he hits; if not, try it again. If
there is still no hit, continue reeling the
popper in, gradually lowering the rod tip as the
lure nears the hull of the boat.
According to Capt. Anthony, popping blues is
more fun during the day, when the fish can be
easily tracked. For Capt. Wayne, popping blues
at night is the ticket, due to the fact that the
fish can be heard breaking the surface in
various directions. For me, the moon’s glow
glistening off the river and the relative
silence of the water at night, lapping against
the bulkheads and canal walls, was enough to get
me hooked on a new variety of fishing.
I didn’t catch a single bass Wednesday, but
instead, caught on to the fun and excitement of
top water fishing.
It was just another night on the Angela Rose II.
FYI:
Angela Rose Charters is based in Point
Pleasant Beach. Starting June16, the crew is
running its 2008 Happy Hour Charters and Shared
Charters. Capt. Anthony will also host Thursday
fireworks trips. Visit the boat's
web
site for more info.
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